Recommended Insurers
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We’ve rated insurance companies not by the traditional method – premium cost – but by claims payout for:
- auto
- home
- business claims for fire, water, wind, flood damage, etc.
We’ve also taken a look at the number and proportion of denied claims to bring you this list of fair minded, quality insurers.
Note: Our statistics are based on our contributors’ personal experiences in claim handling, and we make no warranties or guarantees for any of these companies. All things change. If a company decides to cut costs, its service could decline. We did not consider premium costs, though higher premiums do not necessarily equal better insurance. Some companies pay their agents high commissions and skimp on claims payments.
While having a local sales agent can be helpful, most will not fight for you. They are legally agents for the insurer, not you. “Captive agents”, such as for Farmers Insurance and State Farm Insurance, are less likely to fight their only employer. Independents are a better choice for this reason.
We don’t recommend brokers since their liability is very limited if you don’t have the proper policy or endorsements in place. Companies not listed here either fall between the recommend and avoid classification, or are so small that our contributors have not had personal claims experience with them.
Generally speaking, the more a company advertises, the more you need to beware . Good quality insurers don’t need to advertise and they don’t need to replace customers they lost after a claim. That’s our best consumer insurance claim advice.
Recommended Homeowners
| Insurer | Phone (Claims) | Rank |
| Merced Mutual | 800-348-6747 | 1 |
| Nationwide Insurance | 800-462-1825 | 2 |
| Safeco Insurance | 800-826-8921 | 3 |
| The Maryland Insurance Group | 800-852-7570 | 4 |
| California Casualty Insurance | 800-421-8768 | 5 |
| Automobile Club Of Southern California | 209-732-8045 | 6 |
Avoid the Following on Homeowners
| Insurer | Rank |
| CSAA (AAA of Northern California)
First American Specialty Insurance |
(Worst) |
| Golden Eagle | |
| Farmers Insurance Group (Fire & Truck Exchanges) | |
| Allstate | |
| State Farm | |
| Allied | |
| CSE (Civil Service Employees) | |
| Sutter | |
| Fair Plan | |
| Residence Mutual | |
| Aetna/Travelers | |
| California Capital Insurance (Not Cal. Casualty) | |
| Unigard | |
| Farmers Home Mutual | (Least Worst) |
Recommended Auto Insurers
Nationwide (800-421-1444) is the only one we strongly recommend. They beat all the others with fast claims service and a generous claim payout philosophy. Oddly enough, their premiums are among the lowest. While they do not have local agents and claims are reported to an 800 number, they get an adjuster on the scene quickly, often the same day the loss is reported.
Avoid the Following on Auto (in the order listed)
| CSAA (AAA of Northern California, Fresno and North) |
| Allied |
| Mercury |
| Geico |
| Metropolitan |
| Allstate |
| Colonial Penn |
| Omaha Mutual |
| Sequoia |
| USF&G |
October 24th, 2008 at 4:01 pm #An Adjuster
As an Independent adjuster and having to work for many carriers I chose Texas Farm Bureau for my home, truck, 4-wheeler, horse trailer, health, life and my E&O / Liability coverage.
October 25th, 2008 at 9:47 pm #admin
Thanks for your valuable comments!
So is it safe to assume that since you are an independent adjuster, you chose Texas Farm Bureau because they pay their claims fairly?
You should give them a star and text rating in our Consumer Ratings section and add that you are an adjuster.
November 10th, 2008 at 2:47 pm #Chase
You should know, Progressive sucks too. I’ve been involved with heavy equipment for years and a friend of mine’s son was hired on by them and got horrible treatment by his employer.
November 10th, 2008 at 3:55 pm #admin
I could not agree more with you on Progressive.
Thanks for your comments.
February 11th, 2009 at 5:07 am #J. D. Howard
As a fellow Consumer Advocate, with a Similar Web Site, our Feed Back from Consumers throughout the country has been uniformly favorable for ONE lesser-known insurer … AMICA.
Would be interested in knowing about your experience when dealing with AMICA.
February 13th, 2009 at 1:57 am #admin
Thanks J.D. for the heads up. What does AMICA stand for? Do they write all lines of insurance or specialize in auto or home, etc? Are they in certain regions or target certain demographics, like seniors or government employees?
If you have time, please click on our “Consumer Ratings” link at the top, go to Add an Insurer, and add AMICA with a text and star rating.
I have never heard of them. They must not be big in Central California. But on the other hand, the best insurers are the quiet ones, with no complaints and little advertising, IMO.
February 26th, 2009 at 8:51 am #C. Christians
You are SO RIGHT about the uselessness of California Capital Insurance for property claims. It has been nearly three months since a fire in my house and I am still fighting for every single penny, every single repair and replacement. CCI chose their own contractor, with good reason–they must have saved a hell of a lot of money. Cabinets that burned were replaced with cheap crap–doors that don’t meet or align, warped wood, and believe it or not, smaller cabinets than the original. The wrong color paint was used twice in one room, I had to ask for any number of jobs to be redone–and on and on. One cabinet is “attached” to the floor with caulking. Nearly three months after the fire, the shower is still coated with dried ash and black smoke. The oven and the stove exhaust fan don’t work. Worst of all, absolutely no one will take responsibilty. The “charming” adjustor at San Jose has called me “you stud” (I am an older professional woman) and “Madam.” Stay as far away as you can from CIG/California Capital for property claims.
March 1st, 2009 at 10:34 pm #admin
Hello “C.”,
C, its great you make a rating here, but how come you didn’t go to the “Consumer Ratings” page and rate them? Start a new entry on them. If you want to really get the word out so “the whole world” can easily find them, do it there. You can rate the adjuster, the insurer and their lousy contractor. Please do it! Its why we built that page.
Now, as to your claim, the best advice I can give you is to go to UClaim.com at the products page, look at the first product “HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE CLAIM ADVICE AND HELP – ALL ASPECTS (deluxe). Look at the table of contents. Do you want to rip CCI a new a____ ? That eBook will show you how a veteran public adjuster does it.
May 15th, 2009 at 11:38 am #Sarah
If person seeking health coverage is family member of active duty military personnel, Uniformed Family Health Plan (USFHP) is the best choice for him/her with best coverage and very competitive rates.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:52 pm #admin
Sarah,
Thanks for that. You should list USFHP in the Consumer Ratings page of this website and give a 5 star rating with your comments. Thanks
October 7th, 2009 at 4:22 pm #Jennifer
Travelers: be warned not to use Access America for travel insurance. After my bad experience with them- I then found the pages and pages of negative reviews from dissatisfied customers who were victimized by their “reverse insurance fraud”. They do not pay claims. I purchased travel insurance with them through US Air. My aunt died two days before I was scheduled to leave for a vacation. I called Access America and was assured that this would be no problem-just fill out the claim forms. In addition to the claim forms, I also mailed a copy of the death certificate as well as a letter from the funeral home. They are now saying that if there was a pre-existing condition that they will not pay. Travel insurance is meant for unplanned, unforeseen events that cause a consumer to have to cancel travel plans…and that’s exactly what happened. My aunt’s death was unplanned and unforeseen. Be warned…. I have read hundreds of other complaints made by victims raped by Access America Travel Insurance and Assistance. Someone needs to stop them!
October 7th, 2009 at 10:24 pm #admin
Jennifer,
But did you save 15% on your premiums ??? (I’m joking of course).
You should give them a rating on the “Rate Your Adjuster” page of this website. You will reach more people that way.
Thanks for taking the time and having the guts to speak out.
January 6th, 2010 at 10:34 am #Squirt
Why is CSAA rated worst and how many votes did that receive? I currently have a claim and would like to post a question but don’t know how to do it on this wonderful website. I hope you can respond.
Thank you.
January 6th, 2010 at 1:58 pm #admin
Squirt,
CSAA is rated worst based on our contributors own claim handling experience. You are welcome to give them your own rating on the “Rate Your Adjuster” page of this website when your claim is done.
To post a question, pick a category under the Ask A Question and scroll to tghe bottom of the page. Or post your question in the Discussion Forum page.
April 5th, 2010 at 8:04 pm #Malleaux
Run from Farm Bureau!!
We’re fighting back in the courts of public opinion. We’ve put up a sign at our burned out property to inform our community and eventually the nation how Farm Bureau Insurance treats it’s customers in their time of tragedy.
A great watch!!!
http://www.thefiretruth.com
Malleaux’s
April 7th, 2010 at 6:40 pm #admin
Malleaux,
Good for you! Can you take a minute and make a rating on your insurer and others on our “Rate Your Adjuster” page?
September 7th, 2010 at 7:15 pm #TXAdjuster
I have worked many storm and daily losses for Amica. They are excellent. I wish they would give up IntegriClaim, other than that, they are very fair minded and actually examine the facts of each case to determine if there is a way to cover the loss or part of the loss.
March 3rd, 2011 at 9:43 am #Jeanette Viau
This is a comment regarding C. Christians’ February 26, 2009 post.
We are a law firm in California specializing in insurance bad faith claims, solely on behalf of policyholders/insureds. We currently have a lawsuit against California Capital Insurance Company/CIG involving a first party property claim arising out of fire damage. Our client the insured suffered almost exactly the same treatment as C. Christians – and in some ways, even worse. The CIG adjuster advised the insured’s mortgage company that the insured did not intend to repair – which was incorrect. The mortgage company commenced foreclosure proceedings based on the adjuster’s statement. The adjuster testified in deposition that, in fact, he knew the insured intended to repair. CIG also took an across the board 35% depreciation – which is totally improper. Perhaps C. Christians had the same experience.
We are actively involved in trying to get “bad insurers” to answer for their transgressions. My partner and I have been in practice for almost 50 years combined. For about 13 of my 25 years of practice, I represented insurance companies. When my son was born, I “saw the light,” and switched sides. Would never go back. Our web site is vklawyers.com. Take a look.
This is a great web site, by the way!
March 8th, 2011 at 11:45 am #admin
Jeanette – vklawyers.com, Ca Law Firm,
Thanks for your comments. We would encourage you to add your brief opinion answers to Q&A’s on this website. Its free advice so there is no legal liability for accuracy. It’s also a way to get referrals and your name out there and seo for your own website.
Consumers need “gutsy” plaintiff lawyers more than ever now in the wake of State Farm vs Campbell …
August 9th, 2011 at 3:39 pm #Mike
@Malleaux
Yes Farm Bureau All State and Farmers are all crap. A restaurant caught fire here and I guess they didnt pay claim and the owner did the same exact thing you did. He spray painted his building stating how the insurance sucks and made a website
Sad. I would never get any of those 3
August 25th, 2011 at 7:41 pm #Craigster
By far Farmer’s Insurance is the worst. Stay completely away from them. You will get screwed just like I did. Had them for eight years and just recently filed a claim. Just got a non-renewal notice in the mail today. Am cancelling them immediately file a complaint with BBB and State Insurance in Austin.
Live in West Texas.
September 7th, 2011 at 12:56 pm #Artman
Stay away from Progressive Insurance. Their claims service is horrible!! I had a commercial truck turn left in front of me from the far right lane (I was in the inside lane), he had no working blinker, I had a 3rd party statement from someone I did not know who witnessed the event validated my report AND the truck driver ADMITTED he was at fault! I slammed on the brakes and swerved right but just hit his steel rear bumper wrecking my Honda’s passenger front side. Progressive sent me to a lousy repair facility and gave me 50% responsibility then notified the DMV and I got tagged on my driving record for 5 years!! I will never buy Progressive again and I’m telling anyone who will listen to STAY AWAY FROM PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE!!
October 11th, 2011 at 3:59 pm #Kar
I agree with the thumbs down on Travelers.
I made the mistake of going with this Geico-associated company a decade ago. Now, having experienced my first claim situation, am being given the runaround. A different set of claim requirements at each contact, and no definite information as to what is covered. They are too cheap and lazy to send an adjuster, but want to continue racking up expensive premiums and increasing those each year despite no claims til now. (whooo!
October 13th, 2011 at 2:08 pm #cw
Where’s Chubb?? They’re the best.
October 14th, 2011 at 9:21 am #Admin
You can add Chubb by making a rating at the top of the page. The recommend avoid list is only insurers ICH experts have had claims experience with. Everyone says good things about Chubb. Perhaps thats why most people with Chubb claims never need to hire a public adjuster or attorney.
October 14th, 2011 at 9:24 am #Admin
Correction, add Chubb on the “Rate Your Adjuster” page under Insurers
December 24th, 2011 at 8:02 pm #CareBear
I currently have an auto claim pending with USAA and just received a letter saying they would not be paying! Stay away!
January 2nd, 2012 at 7:48 pm #Jim
I am an adjuster. I have my insurance with Hartford through AARP. Great prices and service.
January 25th, 2012 at 1:46 pm #T.C.
Hi I had insurance with Progressive and my car was declared a total loss due to a flood in the area, they got everything set very very quickly, car rental, body shop everything. Then I was told that I had to sign over power of attorney to them and that they would take care of everything else, they called 2 days straight wanting me to get the power of attorney over to them, I went in to drop the paper off to a local claims office, and they had a check for me. THe lady asked me for a title i told her that I did not have a title, she made me have a seat while she called to confirm, the department she spoke to told her that was all that I needed to give them. She signed the check and gave it to me, the check said PAY TO THE ORDER OF———-,ONLY, i deposited the check into my checking account it cleared. 2 days later i get a call from them stating that they made an error that the check was to made out to me and the lien holder and that the lien holder would send me the remaining money if any at all. Am I responsible for their misrepresentation? and can they take the money out of my checking account once it has already cleared the bank?
January 25th, 2012 at 6:22 pm #Jason
We don’t really understand what you mean when it was made payable to the order of ——, only. Is that your official name? If it is, I don’t see an issues.
January 26th, 2012 at 11:11 am #KG
TC-
I agree with Jason if the — is your actual name, then there isn’t any issues- but if you still owe on your car, you’d need to pay it off and get the title to Progressive. They can’t go into your bank account.