Insurance Disclaimer by Andrew Steinmetz is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The attorneys at Gillin, Jacobson, Ellis, Larsen & Lucey know what it’s like to go up against insurance companies and help accident victims and their families collect on the auto insurance claims to which they are entitled. It takes grit, determination, and careful preparation. Unfortunately, the same can be said about finding the auto insurance policy that’s right for you.

Any time you shop around for an insurance price quote, providers will ask questions about your age, your gender, your driving record, where you live, and the type of car you drive. They will also offer a variety of insurance options, such as basic coverage, collision coverage, personal injury coverage, property liability coverage, comprehensive coverage, and more. Then, they will refer to additional information, such as an insurance-specific credit score, to calculate a price quote.

As if this wasn’t complicated enough, providers may reassess your rate any time they learn about a change in circumstance. Maybe you’ve gotten a traffic ticket or had a big change in the number of miles driven compared to last year. Even if the change leads to a lower insurance premium (let’s say you’ve reduced mileage), you might find greater savings with another provider. Consumer Reports recommends doing a rate check every two or three years in search of a better deal.

We understand why many people don’t routinely shop around for insurance. It takes time. And it can be confusing. That’s why, for the next two months, GJEL will be publishing a series of blog posts called Hack Your Auto Insurance. The series will discuss insurance topics that every driver ought to know in clear and simple terms, using up-to-date information. Yes, there are a lot of variables that make it hard to provide a single set of tips for California’s 25.9 million licensed drivers. There’s also a fair amount of data that we can use to help steer you in the right direction.

Rate your insurance and your car

If you’re already an auto insurance policy holder, you might be interested in the satisfaction ratings that Consumer Reports collected from almost 65,000 of its readers in 2014. Here’s a selection of the results including some top brands in the industry. The highest rating in the survey was 93. The lowest was 80. (Consumer Reports subscribers can log in to the website for ratings of all 24 insurers in the survey.)

Consumer Reports 2014 Car Insurance Ratings

Differences of three points or less are meaningless, according to Consumer Reports.

Once you’ve gotten a general rating for your insurance provider, go to the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) website and look up an insurance rating for your car. HLDI has a ton of information grouped according to vehicle models and six categories of insurance coverage. The HLDI ratings consider how frequently providers receive insurance claims for each vehicle and the claim payments that providers make.

Here’s a sample of the ratings for 2013-15 model vehicles.

Highway Loss Data Institute collision insurance ratings

The Highway Loss Data Institute has no records of 2013-15 small sports cars or very large luxury cars with above average results for collision insurance claims.

What’s next in the series

In the weeks ahead, the Hack Your Auto Insurance series will cover the insurance requirements in California, how California has tried to limit rate increases by private insurance providers, and the reasons why some consumers opt for more auto insurance than the coverage required by law, among other topics.

If you’re not tracking the insurance industry on a regular basis—and who could blame you?—this series has a lot of new information to share. We’ll look at what it would take to extend the Airbnb model so people can rent out their idle vehicles the way they rent out space in their homes. We will also explain why consumer advocates have asked California to reject discounts that would reduce premiums for certain drivers.

Upcoming topics include:

• California rates
• Which coverage to choose
• Filing a claim
• Do you insure the car—or the driver?
• Renting out your car
• Insuring rental cars and carshare
• Questions and answers

Andy Gillin

Andy Gillin received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his law degree from the University of Chicago. He is the managing partner of GJEL Accident Attorneys and has written and lectured in the field of plaintiffs’ personal injury law for numerous organizations. Since 1972 he has been helping seriously injured victims throughout northern California fight & win their personal injury cases. Andy is one of the top awarded & recognized wrongful death lawyers in northern California.