Report Ranks Allstate As Worst Insurer
Report Ranks Auto Insurers By Complaints
Published in the Asbury Park Press 02/2/05
By: JONATHAN TAMARI
GANNETT STATE BUREAU
A new report measuring customer complaints against auto insurers says
Palisades Insurance fared best among the state's biggest companies last
year, while MetLife Auto & Home and Allstate finished worst.
The report issued Tuesday by the state
Department of Banking and Insurance also shows Geico has made fast inroads
in New Jersey, growing to become one of the 12 biggest auto insurers in the
state after slightly more than three months operating here.
Geico — known for its ads featuring a gecko
and offers of low rates — re-entered the New Jersey insurance market Aug. 11
and insured 128,623 vehicles by Dec. 1. It had exited New Jersey in 1976 but
returned after reforms were adopted in 2003.
Several industry observers said Geico's
ubiquitous ads, which for years ended by reminding viewers and listeners the
offer was not available in New Jersey, helped it make an early push.
"You can't turn on cable TV or a regular
network without seeing a Geico ad," said John Kerry Dyke, chairman of the
New Jersey Auto Agents Alliance. "They're not just in the media, but they
saturate it."
Geico's complaint-rate was not calculated by
the state because the company has not been operating in the state long
enough.
The second annual report by the state ranks
companies by comparing the number of "valid" complaints against the number
of vehicles it insures. Valid complaints are cases in which the company
violates state rules or should have resolved disputes without state
involvement.
"This report gives consumers an idea of how
insurance companies compare with each other in terms of customer
satisfaction," Banking and Insurance Commissioner Holly C. Bakke said in a
statement.
MetLife had the worst ratio of complaints
compared to the number of vehicles it insures, 16 complaints and 60,994
vehicles as of June 30. The company, in a statement, said its sale of some
New Jersey business affected its ranking. MetLife, which also ranked among
the 10 worst companies for complaints in 2003, said it expects better
results this year.
Allstate, the state's second-largest insurer
at roughly 723,000 cars, had the most total complaints filed against it in
2004, with 42 deemed "valid." The next-closest company, Liberty Mutual, had
27 valid complaints and roughly 483,000 cars.
An Allstate spokesman did not return a phone
call seeking comment.
Berkeley Heights-based Palisades, with
144,454 vehicles insured, was the largest of four companies with no "valid"
complaints against it last year. Another company in the Palisades group,
High Point insurance, also ranked among the best six companies.
"We try hard to provide great service, and we
were delighted that this report shows that we're the best," said Palisades
President Gerald Wilson.
Three other companies — Lancer, Founders and
Atlantic Mutual — also had no valid complaints last year. Each insures fewer
than 30,000 vehicles.
The state's largest vehicle insurer, New
Jersey Manufacturers, was ranked fifth best among the 32 ranked companies
with only 4 valid complaints. It insures 787,166 vehicles.
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