Introduction
Insurance is something that you'll come to rely on in life should any accidents befall you or your loved ones, but unless you're in the industry, policies of any kind are incredibly difficult for a layman to understand. All insurance companies are reviewed by financial institutions to determine just how fiscally stable they actually are.
But actually comprehending just what these ratings mean is not the easiest process, with a lot of industry speak and frankly boring documents.
If you don't pay attention, or your eyes start to glaze over, you may well miss some vital information. Before doing any business with an insurance company, it's essential to have a clear understanding of their financial rating and any reviews that have been performed.
Failure to do so could lead to major issues in the future, and you don't want to learn too late that the insurance you've gone with cannot pay out in times of great crises such as floods, hurricanes, or even fires. So before you stumble on a financial review, here's a handy guide to decoding insurance reviews and ratings.
Insurance company ratings are designed to gauge a company's financial stability through a holistic examination of their organization. There are numerous factors that comprise the ultimate score, including the business' current success and how well they've handled past disasters. This is the case for all kinds of insurance, be it life, auto, or home.
But the criteria for how the ratings are made differs greatly from region to region. A home insurance company in Florida, for instance, would probably have a poor rating after a hurricane or flood destroyed many homes. For a more pertinent, recent example, health insurers all took the same kind of hit at the start of the pandemic.
It's absolutely crucial to at least know your insurance company's score, as you share a continuing financial responsibility to one another. If at a time such as a pandemic or flood, they are unable to pay out, you will likely be unable to cover any damages.
The ultimate role of a rating for an insurance company is to gauge just how financially sound they are, and as mentioned there are different criteria depending on where you live. But there are some guidelines that are more common than others, including:
No credit agency uses the same measurements, and each has its own methods. But it's worth noting that, whatever their methods, the information they're using to devise a rating is exactly the same.
There are many different companies and groups that keep track of insurance performance. The most common is A.M. Best, though others you may be familiar with are:
Demotech
Standard and Poor's
Moody's
Fitch
A financial rating for an insurance company is a good guiding principle, but they're far from infallible. Merced insurance, for instance, was given an A- by A.M. Best. That didn't stop it from going bankrupt in 2018 after the violent summer of wildfires that plagued California. Many other financial groups also were pretty confident in Enron before it became embroiled in endless scandals.
So while financial ratings are a good place to start, it's not the last word in judging your insurance.
In general, if you've seen it on television or in major ads, it's got a good rating. With exception taken to any local small-time insurance companies, the biggest insurance companies generally are rated very well. This means, so far, they have stable business models and even in great panic are unlikely to fail.
As you can see, a good financial rating might not be enough information. When you're buying insurance, it's important to gather all the information you can about the people who are going to be handling your claims. One way to do so is to look at customer reviews. On a personal level, it can be incredibly handy just to have an understanding of how well you'll be treated when you're doing business.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) keeps a record of all complaints lodged against an insurance company and weighs them against how much insurance is sold. This index of complaints can offer insight into, for instance, the best home insurance companies in Michigan, or the best car insurance in Georgia. Some states offer this information statewide, but you'll have to check depending on where you live.
For a comprehensive understanding of customer satisfaction, one can look to J.D. Power. This consumer research organization does these kinds of ratings for every industry. It's another good starting point, however many of these reviews only tell you how good the company is at a particular service as opposed to a more generalized account of how sound their business model is.
If you'd care to look at individual reviews from customers, including complaints, the Better Business Bureau has such records as do websites such as Yelp. However, an individual online is more likely to share a negative experience than a positive one. It's just the nature of the internet, so you have to judge these accordingly.
Of course, there's still no guarantee. Ultimately, it's about who you trust, the people that you meet that handle your insurance. Because the industry can often feel impersonal, especially if you go with a major insurer.
But it helps to trust the people that handle your claims, even if the experience is not as intimate as you'd expect. The best thing you can do is to make yourself comfortable. And part of doing so is arming yourself in the fine art of decoding insurance ratings and reviews. They should never be the deciding factor, but they should certainly play a major role in your decision.
Insuranker
Policy Type: Pet Insurance
Company name: Fetch Pet Insurance by the Dodo (Formerly PetPlan)
Pet Plan is an Absolute SCAM. You’re premium goes up every year excessively in jumps like £15 to £20. Started off at £35 and eight years later is £105 . They cover absolutely nothing . The £780 dental work was considered cosmetic and not covered . I have stopped the insurance now as the first time I make a claim because my dog got sick, nothing was covered because I had to pay 20% excess deductible which was the cost of the visit and so Pet Plan wiggled their way out of paying anything. I paid and they didn’t . I cannot for the life of me understand why I have been paying thousands of pounds over the years and nothing nothing nothing was ever covered under their terms . Pet Plan are a scum insurance . Put your money in a bank account for your pet and pay for things this way . Note I was paying £105 per month for a £4000 coverage Do you know that a simple scan and test was priced at £8000 so even if you have pet insurance your £4000 doesn’t even get you a test result let alone any treatment . And your excess on a £4000 claim will be £800 . So the actual coverage is only £3200. Meanwhile in four years you could have £5000 in your pets bank account and in 8 years over £10,000 saved for treatment . I massively regret paying into Pet Plan all these years . They only care about making money and not you pet.
Unfortunately I had a terrible experience with this company. I am a huge animal lover and I am also an insurance agent. Initially I wasn’t aware you needed to video call their vet to get approval and the reason I wasn’t aware is because they don’t tell you, however it’s in the fine print, which is A HUGE thing to not tell your clients right off the jump. When I came to them they gave false hope stating they can still possibly provide the coverage as long as the documents I send in show everything that happened for his emergency visit. Well I sent them in extreme detail my dog was hospitalized for 4 days with pancreatitis and after no one answered me for 2 & 1/2 weeks they finally emailed back after threatening the BBB, saying my claim wasn’t accepted since I didn’t video call with their vet. They also stated they had no way to contact me this since they were sent to spam. I find this puzzling since I’ve gotten several emails from them in the past. Not sure why on earth they tell clients to send in paperwork since they can approve it after the fact, knowing they have no intention of doing so. It’s clear now how they make their $ and it’s to avoid paying out claims… all while I’m trying to get ahold of someone via email regarding the status of my claim they made sure to charge me for my monthly fee which is at this point comical they also made sure to tell me they won’t be refunding me that installment. Anything to squeeze out every cent from your clients is not an ethical company the fact that they made sure to tell me they’d see on my claim being approved and then ghosted me for 2 weeks, only to deny the claim the day after they made sure to take my monthly installment. Take this as a sign to sign up with a more reputable A rated carrier that doesn’t have hoops you need to jump through. Just signed up with Lemonade. I’ll be reporting these unethical practices to the insurance commissioner.
I got pet insurance through lemonade. For the insurance they have you go to the vet to get a health check up. During the health check up my cat was healthy, but had a lump. The vet did a cytology and determined that it was a cyst. There was some hardened material, but the results showed no cancerous material and I was referred out to a surgical center to have the cyst removed. 2 months later, when she went in to have the cyst checked the vet was worried it might be more. They checked her lungs and again, everything was healthy. But her leg were the cyst was had to go and the vet was worried it may be something more. They had to take her leg and when they did, they did a biopsy and determined this was actually a fibrosarcoma. This was 2 months after I started the policy. But they are trying to say it was preexisting and won't pay out the claim. They're just trying to take money from people and don't want to hold up their end of the contract.
Lori Conway Insuranker
Policy Type: Pet Insurance
Company name: Fetch Pet Insurance by the Dodo (Formerly PetPlan)
Do NOT sign up with this company. I have used dog and cat insurance my whole life, they will not pay anything on anything. They will keep asking for additional info and then after 60 days, they will decline. ITS A SCAM. I have reported them on BBB. And they do not ever answer phone calls or emails. Do not use this scam pet insurance
Absolutely awful experience. Approved for Emergency Funds, have to goto ER within 4 hours, found one available over an hour away. but made it on time. After admitting our cat, they gave an estimate of between $2000-2500. They wanted a deposit of $2000. According to Pawp, we have to pay deposit, but it will be refunded when Pawp pays final bill. Final bill comes after 3 nights in ER. Pawp denies to pay. Said they needed medical records. Even though it states on their website they just need invoice and will pay in 30 minutes. Anyway after going back and forth for a couple days, They come up with some BS about not following their rules and regulations. The reason they chose, was completely untrue. STAY AWAY, you will regret it if you don't.