Smart Auto Insurance Blog

One Beacon Auto Insurance is one of 14 companies marked as high dividend growth stocks for earnings this month by Seeking Alpha.  On their website they included details with interactive charts and price indexes to help readers see the impact these companies are having overall.  The Kapitall interactive charts are truly fascinating as you press a “play” button to compare changes in analyst ratings over the past two years.

Specifically speaking One Beacon reported earnings for their surety and title insurance industry.  The market cap was $1.26B while official earnings are to be released at the end of July.  Dividend yield is at 6.27%, a payout ratio at 11.91%, and a current year dividend per share estimated at $1.53 vs TTM dividend per share at $.84.  This has been an impressive stock over the course of 2011, gaining 24.91% over the past year.

Another insurance group, Selective Insurance Group Inc for the Property and Casualty insurance industry also reported numbers to discuss.  They reported a dividend yield at 3.2%, payout ratio of 33.77% and a current year dividend per share estimate at $.62 vs TMM dividend per share at $.52.  The stock as overall gained 14.18% in 2011.  The article goes on to detail the other 12 companies with dividend and stock information in a very smooth, and easy to read format.

Written by Sara Smart

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Progressive Auto Insurance has been named in Diversity MBA Magazine in its “50 Out Front Diversity Leadership: Best Places for Diverse Managers to Work” list.  The magazine lists the top companies for women and minorities to pursue positions of leadership each year.  Progressive is known for embracing diversity and it shows in this honor.

Neil Lenane, Progressive’s director of employee experience says people with different backgrounds and experiences are crucial to the growth of the business.  He believes it’s the diversity that makes Progressive Auto Insurance Company such a great place to work.  Progressive was named in part because of their consistent commitment to diversity throughout their entire company.  Progressive recruiters advertise with ethnically diverse organizations and job boards to encourage the growth of their diverse community.

Diversity MBA Magazine looks at over 400 employers on the Fortune 500 list and consider a variety of factors including employee retention, recruitment efforts, and the company’s accountability.  The magazine says that it’s a very competitive list with a 30% increase in participation by companies this year.

Understanding your auto insurance company’s financial strength is important to protect your lifestyle and future financial well being.  Insurance agents, brokers, financial advisors, and other insurance professionals have long used AM Best’s Financial Strength Ratings to help support their insurance selection and investment choices.  It’s now recommended consumers also utilize Best’s ratings to understand their insurance company’s strengths.

Companies such as Founders Auto Insurance are found on the AM Best ratings list.  Founders Insurance received an A- as of July 2010 which is considered excellent.  This excellent rating is very important to the well being of the company.  Best’s Financial Strength ratings offer an independent evaluation from a third party to assist in determining the ability of an insurance company to fulfill its obligations with regard to a variety of insurance products, including auto insurance coverage.

The AM Best rating process gives all insurance companies the same rigorous review which provides an extremely valuable benchmark for comparing insurance companies against each other.  Companies can receive ratings from an A++ all the way down to an F which usually means the company is in liquidation.  A B or below is considered a vulnerable rating whereas a B+ or above indicates secure financial strength.

According to the article “Louisiana Auto, Property Insurance Rates Highest in US” by Christopher Tidmore on Bayou Buzz, an average quote for Louisiana auto insurance is $1,111 which is the highest in the nation.  This is based on a recent survey conducted by InsWeb.

There was a drastic difference between Louisiana and other southern states.  For example, North Carolina’s average rate is $495 and Virgina’s average rate was $521.  This is about half of what the state of Louisiana is experiencing which is making it difficult for Louisiana residents to afford auto insurance coverage.

The closest southern state was Florida coming in at about $750 on average.  Louisiana also ranked high for very high property insurance rates as well.  The average premium for home owners insurance for the whole nation is $690.62 which is significantly cheaper than Louisiana’s average which is $1392.  This is up .2% from the previous year.

The south typically has higher insurance rates because of the devastating threats of hurricane season, but Louisiana consistently is one of the most expensive states for insurance in the United States.

According to their website, Progressive Auto Insurance has been named one of G.I. Jobs Magazine’s Top 100 Military Friendly Employers.  This is huge recognition for the auto insurance company that works hard to ensure their military employers are well taken care of.

Active-duty Reservists who are employed by Progressive receive 100% differential pay and their health insurance remains in effect while they are on duty.  Chris Humlicek, Progressive’s military recruitment director, says they value the experience of military veterans and recruit at military job boards, job fairs, and in military publications.  They find that veterans do very well at Progressive because they’re able to adapt to changes, understand objectives and lead teams.  It’s great to see that major, successful companies are doing the right thing to show military men and women the respect they deserve.

G.I. Jobs Magazine ranks 100 companies every year on criteria, including military hiring practices, benefits, pay policies, veteran training programs, and military recruitment programs.  They compile the list from over 5000 entrants, and only companies with over $500 million in revenue were able to compete.

According to the article “Auto Claims Customer Satisfaction Still High, But Dips From ‘09″ by NU Online News Service on Property-Casualty.com, overall auto insurance claims satisfaction dropped in 2010 because of a decrease in settlement satisfaction based on a study from JD Power & Associates.

JD Power & Associates released its 2010 US Auto Claims Satisfaction Study recently and it shows the number of consumers who filed claims considered their fair dropped in 2010 when compared with the 2009 results.  Satisfaction with claims service is still higher than it was in 2008 which is a good sign.  For the study, auto insurance companies were ranked based on consumer responses, on first notice of loss, service interaction, repair process, appraisal, settlement, rental experience and overall satisfaction.

The senior director of insurance practice at JD Power & Associates, Jeremy Bowler, says the industry experienced huge improvements in 2009 partly because of a 2 day reduction in overall repair time year over year which is a major feat.  In 2010 repair times increased slightly but overall satisfaction is still good.

According to the press release “The Hartford Tops Ranking of Auto Insurance Web Sites” found on Business Wire, Hartford Auto Insurance has one of the most user-friendly websites.

The Hartford Financial Services Group, INC, announced recent research put forth by Change Sciences Group, which gives their website top marks for consumer use.  The study looked at ease-of-use, content quality, the use of social media, and persuasiveness compared with the top 17 auto insurance companies.  Based on this information, this would be an easy site to use to get quotes on auto insurance as well as purchase a policy. 

Pam Pavliscak, a partner at Change Sciences Group says The Hartford scored the best in the research because the site requires lower user effort and simultaneously providing valuable information.  They practice hyper usability, which is working to ease the burden of entering data and navigating the site.  They provide the appropriate information at the right time, making it easier for consumers to get through the site with ease.  Hartford Auto Insurance prioritizes the improvement of their online presence because they realize how important it is to an overall successful insurer.

JD Power’s 2009 National Auto Insurance Study offers auto insurance provider ratings for a wide variety of insurers such as Encompass Car Insurance.  Encompass rated average which is good considering it’s a smaller company.

In the category of overall satisfaction, Encompass ranked average.  The category of contacting the insurer also ranked average.  Policy offerings received two stars which is the second to worst rating to receive.  Billing payment was considered average and pricing received two stars.  Overall the company achieved an average ranking.

It’s convenient that JD Power is ranking smaller companies, but other smaller insurers such as Dairyland Insurance are not included in the ranking report.  You can still receive reviews on these smaller companies through review websites or the Better Business Bureau.  As you shop around for car insurance you want to consider how other people view their experience with the company.  Price is obviously very important but you need to understand what you are getting for the price quoted.

Nationwide Auto Insurance ranked well in JD Power’s recent report ranking various auto insurance companies across the nation.  The 2009 National Auto Insurance Study awarded Amica Mutual as the highest ranked, but it’s important to know how well your specific carrier ranked.

Nationwide received an average ranking in all categories except pricing where it ranked slightly below average.  Pricing is very customer specific though so getting a quote is still very much worth your time.  In the other categories of overall satisfaction, contacting the insurer, policy offerings, and billing & payment they are considered average.

View more detailed reporting on JD Power’s website, but note that JD Power Consumer Center Ratings may not include all of the information used to figure JD Power and Associates Awards. Using this type of report can be extremely helpful as you get various quotes from auto insurance companies.