| When purchasing insurance, there are three very | | | | this concern you? It depends on your personal risk |
| important elements you need to evaluate; price, | | | | profile and where you live. If I had Houston home |
| coverage, and service. Price is very easy to quantify. | | | | insurance (an area prone to hurricanes), I would be |
| Coverage is also fairly easy to compare between | | | | weary if my company had a 'B' financial strength |
| insurers. Service, however, seems to be the most | | | | rating. Hurricanes have the ability to spread damage |
| difficult element to evaluate. This article talks about a | | | | over thousands of homes, and sometimes it takes |
| few different ways you can do your due diligence to | | | | very strong financial strength to cover hundreds to |
| find out if the home insurance company you are | | | | thousands of claims in a short amount of time. The |
| thinking of starting a policy with meets your service | | | | one thing that is important to realize about the AM |
| standards. | | | | Best rating, however, is that it's not a rating of |
| Look to your state insurance department's website. | | | | customer service or complaints; it's strictly a financial |
| Most states in the United States of America have a | | | | strength rating. |
| state website (a.gov) with information about home | | | | Look to the BBB, JD Power Ratings, and friends. The |
| insurance companies. For example, Texas has an | | | | final step to doing your due diligence on a company is |
| excellent insurance section on its state website. You | | | | to check out a company's Better Business Bureau |
| can look up reputable insurance companies, how | | | | rating, its JD Power rating, and to talk to its current |
| many home insurance policies each company writes, | | | | customer base. The Better Business Bureau is a |
| what types of policies each company most | | | | company that gives other companies a letter grade |
| commonly offers, and even a complaint index so you | | | | for their propensity to respond to customer |
| can see which companies in Texas receive the most | | | | complaints. The JD Power ratings are calculated using |
| complaints! Every state differs by the amount of | | | | many different criteria and done on the largest |
| information provided, but it can't hurt to go to your | | | | insurance companies in the nation. Finally, friends and |
| state's website to see if you can gather some | | | | family are probably your best option to help you |
| information about home insurance providers. | | | | decide whether a home insurance company is right |
| Look to AM Best's financial strength ratings. AM Best | | | | for you. Excellent reviews by friends and family |
| is a company that rates the financial strength and | | | | should carry more weight than an 'F' BBB rating and a |
| stability of insurance companies. They have many | | | | poor JD Power rating. Although the BBB and JD |
| ratings, but typically any 'A' rating is good. If a home | | | | Power are good tools, the best endorsements a |
| insurance company starts to receive a rating of 'B' or | | | | home insurance company can receive are satisfied |
| lower, it means their financial strength and stability is | | | | customers who have been through the claims |
| weaker than the top companies in your area. Should | | | | process. |