I've actually done a lot of investigating of online reviews over the last few months and I've come to a firm conclusion...that they're pretty much useless. For the most part, if you read between the lines and know how things actually work, most of the problems stem from poor communication and an overall lack of understanding what their particular policy actually covers. It's uneducated consumers over-expecting on coverage while wanting the absolute cheapest possible rate, even if there are holes in their coverage.
I've been doing this a long time and I can say quite confidently that there is not a single insurance company out there that has a superior claims department when compared to the rest of the industry. Here's why:
A) All insurance companies outsource a large percentage of their claims to private adjusting firms. That means on any given day, Mr. Smith who is an adjuster for ABC Adjusting Inc. will have a file from TD, Aviva, State Farm & Intact all on his desk.
B) The claims end of the insurance industry has extremely high turnover. Finding someone that works auto & property claims with more than 5 years experience is RARE. Most bail after a year or two and either go into underwriting or jump to the broker side. This industry is FULL of people who USED to work in claims.
So the long and the short of it is that a claim with any given insurance company is a total crap shoot. With every company along with the handful of private adjusting firms, you're going to get a few rock stars, a few totally incompetent idiots, and the bulk in the middle that are just warm bodies. Not great but not terrible. Add on top of that a system where these people are very overworked, and there is no hope of any given company being better than any other given company when looking at the big picture.
So what's a consumer to do? Find a good broker that can help you through the process if & when you have a claim and it goes sideways. That right there is one of the biggest reasons consumers should use a broker instead of a direct writer (like AMA, the banks, etc.). If you're with one of the direct writers and things go sideways, you don't have anyone to fight on your behalf. You're completely at their mercy.
"Masked Bandit is a gateway drug for frugal spending." - Unknown303