Car insurance quotes have been easier to access and more competitive as the growth of the Internet has taken place over the last decade. With so many sites to choose from to find accurate quotes from the best insurance companies, the question is where to go for the best quotes. Best is considered to be those with established reputations and brand names, and own a significant part of the auto insurance policies.
Below is a list of auto insurers account for more than 50 percent of all car insurance policies. In order, they are:
Allstate
Geico
Progressive
Farmers Insurance Group
Total policy ownership says a lot about just who the public chooses for their car insurance, so the best rates are likely to be found where many people put their money. But that is not the only thing to look at in the search for the best insurance.
Insure.com conducted a survey to determine what the best car insurance was after signing the policy. For car insurance there were five major criteria:
Customer service
Claims satisfaction
Value for price paid
Percent who plan to renew
Percent who would recommend the company
Of the top insurers, GEICO and Chubb received the highest marks for overall company financial stability, another consideration before signing a policy.
The top company surveyed was USAA, though this company restricts policies to the military and their families. In second place was Erie Insurance, and in third was Auto-Owners Insurance. These companies' web sites would be the best to search if the quality of the policy is more important than the premium paid.
If searching for the best car insurance rate regardless of the quality of the service or financial stability of the company, then web sites that search all car insurance rates will provide the best answers. NetQuote, InsureMe, Insurance.com, 2Insure4Less, and Allstate are considerably better than their online competition. However, the search often results in returning some or all of the top five companies.
NetQuote has agreements with literally thousands of insurance contractors to provide the customer with the greatest number of choices for coverage. Completing the quote request form is simple and direct, and will result in the person being contacted, either by e-mail or phone, from the selected insurance company.
InsureMe.com provides fast quotes by using the same quote information form as NetQuote, but has no way to directly contact the company through e-mail.
Insurance.com automatically chooses the top three providers based on the zip code entered and then gives direct links to the sales sites of the selected company.
2Insure4Less.com asks for slightly more information in the initial quote form, particularly if a college aged student is seeking a quote, but basically follows the format of the NetQuote and InsureMe sites.
All these web sites deliver up to 8 auto insurance quotes to your e-mail box or have an insurance representative call by phone to further discuss the particular car insurance needs.