Choosing the Best Car Insurance Companies

In an endless search for the best car insurance companies, I have encountered nothing but a huge headache.

However, I found that the best insurance company for my family is actually Ameriprise Financial. I was with State Farm and Geico, and both companies were "fine" to deal with. Both State Farm and Geico displayed excellent customer service departments, both have local agents to work with, and both have stellar claims departments with express availabilty and direct payment. However, their prices just do not compare.

Ameriprise Car Insurance representatives listened when we discussed our options. They did not judge my speeding tickets or teenage-stupidity accidents. They did not question my wife's need for an SR-22 due to a few bad choices and lack of insurance in the past. They also worked with us for flexible payment options and helped us find the RIGHT coverage for us, not just what was convenient for them at the time. The assured us that we did not have to go to a second rate company just to save money, and that we could find the right coverages with just a little bit of elbow grease and time.

Working with State Farm was fine. I like the personal assistance of an agent, and I like that I can call them twenty-four hours a day. I also like that they have an excellent claims service - I can call them, file a claim, and have my car into a shop the same day. They also direct pay a lot of body shops, which helps streamline the paper and time investment for me. I can appreciate that State Farm did the hard work for me - they interviewed, assessed, and rated their shops so that I did not have to risk my car to just anyone.

Geico was another "fine" company. However, I had a fender bender to the tune of about $1,800, and my rates jacked up thirty dollars a month. I could not understand a company that bragged of their price guarantees and ability to "help" their clients, then after a tiny accident increased my rates by $180 every six months. Also, they were not willing to help us find a policy that would have covered us for the liabilty coverage we wanted.

I am happy to say that we have found the best car insurance company and the best car insurance quote all just by thinking outside the box.