Auto insurance ratings methodology (2024)

Our car insurance reviews score each company on cost, financial strength, customer experience and satisfaction, and coverage offerings.

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By

Andrew HurstSenior Editor & Licensed Auto Insurance ExpertAndrew Hurst is a senior editor and a licensed auto insurance expert at Policygenius. His work has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, NPR, Mic, Insurance Business Magazine, ValuePenguin, and Property Casualty 360.

Edited by

Anna SwartzAnna SwartzSenior Managing EditorAnna Swartz is a senior managing editor who specializes in home, auto, renters, and disability insurance at Policygenius. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic and a writer at The Dodo. Her work has also appeared in Salon, HuffPost, MSN, AOL, and Heeb.

Published|2 min read

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Policygenius reviews and ranks the most well known car insurance companies to make it easier for drivers to shop for a great policy.

We scored each company on cost, financial strength, customer experience and satisfaction, and coverage offerings. Each of these categories has a weight based on its importance and insight from our own licensed insurance experts.

For each review, we averaged the company’s raw scores, then converted these weighted averages into a single “z-score” and then a “t-score,” which we then standardized on a five-point scale. That’s what makes up each company's overall Policygenius rating.

Here’s how our ratings categories break down:

Price

We calculated the scores for price based on each company's average rate and the total number of available discounts.

We found average cost per company by using rates from every ZIP code. Our sample rates were for a 30-year-old male driver of a 2017 Toyota Camry with the following limits:

  • Bodily injury liability: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident

  • Property damage liability: $50,000 per accident

  • Uninsured/underinsured motorist: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident

  • Comprehensive: $500 deductible

  • Collision: $500 deductible

Rates were provided by Quadrant Information Services. Some carriers may be represented by affiliates or subsidiaries. Rates provided are a sample of costs. Your actual quotes may differ.

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Financial strength

A company’s financial strength score is based on scores from top credit raters AM Best, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. 

Each of these trusted third-parties scores car insurance companies based on slightly different letter-grade systems. We assigned numbers to these letter grades to get each company’s raw financial strength score.

Points

AM Best

S&P

Moody's

1

C, C-

BBB-

Baa3

2

C++, C+

BBB

Baa2

3

B-

BBB+

Baa1

4

B

A-

A3

5

B+

A-

A2

6

B++

A+

A1

7

A-

AA-

Aa3

8

A

AA-

Aa2

9

A+

AA+

Aa1

10

A++

AAA

Aaa

Collapse table

Customer experience and satisfaction

The customer experience and satisfaction score uses the J.D. Power Claims Satisfaction and Digital Experience surveys, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’s (NAIC) Complaint Index. 

J.D. Power is a consumer data company that uses ratings from real policyholders to score car insurance companies on metrics like overall happiness with the claims process.

Coverage offerings

We assigned points to each company based on the total number of available coverage types. More common offerings (like roadside assistance) earned a company fewer points than less-standard coverages (like personal belongings coverage).

Points

Coverage

1

Bodily injury liability, property damage liability, comprehensive, collision, uninsured/underinsured motorist, medical payments, personal injury protection, roadside assistance, gap insurance, other coverage not listed

2

New car replacement, rental reimbursement, custom parts and equipment, full glass coverage, guaranteed value coverage, OEM parts coverage

3

Rideshare coverage, better car replacement, personal belongings coverage

Policygenius offers insurance policies from many of the nation's top insurers, which pay us a commission for our services. However, all editorial choices are made independently.

Corrections

No corrections since publication.

Author

Andrew Hurst is a senior editor and a licensed auto insurance expert at Policygenius. His work has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, NPR, Mic, Insurance Business Magazine, ValuePenguin, and Property Casualty 360.

Editor

Anna Swartz is a senior managing editor who specializes in home, auto, renters, and disability insurance at Policygenius. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic and a writer at The Dodo. Her work has also appeared in Salon, HuffPost, MSN, AOL, and Heeb.

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