Best Car Insurance: How to Compare Companies, Coverage and Prices

No car insurance company is the best for everyone. Price depends on the individual driver, service varies by region, and not every company sells in every state. The best car insurance for you is the policy that gives you the coverage you need, at a competitive price, from a company that handles claims fairly and has the financial strength to pay them.

Help Insurance does not rank insurers. Instead, this guide shows you the criteria that matter and where to find public, checkable information on each one.

Why we do not name a best company

A fair ranking would need current prices for many driver profiles in every state, along with claims and complaint data for each company. Published rankings rest on choices about which sample drivers to price and how to weight price against service, and different choices produce different winners. We would sooner give you a method that works for your details than a list that may not.

The five things to compare

1. Price, measured properly

Price is only meaningful when every quote covers the same thing. Decide on your limits and deductibles first, then follow the checklist in car insurance quotes. Treat any ranking of cheapest companies as a list of candidates, for the reasons explained in cheapest car insurance.

2. Complaint record

When policyholders cannot resolve a problem with an insurer, they can file a complaint with their state insurance department. The NAIC gathers these complaints and publishes them through its Consumer Insurance Search.

The most useful figure is the complaint index. It compares a company's share of complaints with its share of the market:

• An index of 1.0 means the company received the number of complaints expected for its size.
• Below 1.0 means fewer complaints than expected.
• An index of 2.0 means twice as many as expected.

Look at the index for private passenger auto specifically, and look at several years, because a single year can be unusual. A small company's index can swing widely on a handful of complaints.

3. Financial strength

An insurance policy is a promise to pay in the future, so the company's finances matter. Independent rating agencies assess insurers' ability to pay claims and publish letter grades. Each agency uses its own scale, so read the agency's definitions instead of comparing letters across agencies.

Two further protections exist. Insurers are licensed and financially supervised by state regulators, and states operate guaranty associations that pay covered claims, up to set limits, if a licensed insurer fails.

4. Coverage and options

Companies do not all offer the same things. Check whether each one provides:

• The liability limits you want, including higher limits if you have assets to protect
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage at matching limits
• Extras that matter to you, such as rental reimbursement, roadside assistance, gap coverage or coverage for rideshare driving
• Its policy in your state, and in any state you may move to

Read how each coverage is described, especially for extras. Names are similar between companies, but terms can differ.

5. Service fit

Think about how you want to deal with your insurer. Some people want a local agent they can call. Others prefer to manage everything in an app. Find out how claims are reported, whether you can choose your repair shop and how to reach a person when something goes wrong.

A step-by-step way to choose

1. Set your coverage. Use the main car insurance guide to decide on limits and deductibles.
2. Build a list of five or six companies that sell in your state. Include at least one you would reach through an independent agent. If your state insurance department publishes a rate comparison tool, as Texas does with HelpInsure.com ¹, use it to find candidates.
3. Get matched quotes from each.
4. Remove any company with a weak complaint index or financial rating.
5. Compare what remains on coverage options and service.
6. Choose the best price among the companies that are left.

Signs to slow down

• A price far below every other quote for the same coverage. Check the limits and deductibles again.
• Pressure to buy immediately.
• A company you cannot find in your state insurance department's license lookup. You can find your department through the NAIC's directory of state insurance departments.
• Vague answers about what is and is not covered.

Review your choice periodically

The best company for you can change. Prices move, your circumstances change and service quality shifts. Recheck your price and the company's complaint record every year or two, and whenever your renewal rises sharply.

The bottom line

Shortlist on price, screen on complaints and financial strength, and decide on coverage and service. Every one of those steps relies on information you can verify yourself, which is a sturdier basis for a decision than any ranking.