
Latest ‘Insurer Report Card’ grades ‘record-high’ 22 companies with C- or lower
By onAnnouncements | Insurance
A record-high of 22 companies, including six of the largest U.S. auto insurers, received a grade of C- or lower from collision repairers on the 2025 “Insurer Report Card” for how well their claims practices help promote quality repairs and customer service.
None of the top 10 largest and best-known auto insurers received an overall grade higher than a C+ while more than 60 other insurers ranked higher.
Six companies received an A- or higher. Thirty insurers received a B or higher to earn a spot on this year’s “Honor Roll.”
The survey is conducted annually by CRASH Network. According to a press release from CRASH Network, more than 1,100 body shops around the country each graded as many as 40 different insurance companies in their state. They said the highest-graded auto insurers are better than others in terms of claims processes, having more experienced and responsive claims personnel, paying for OEM repair procedures, and not pressuring shops to select replacement parts based primarily on price.
“Body shops were asked to evaluate how well each insurer’s ‘policies, attitude, and payment practices ensure quality repairs and customer service for motorists,'” the release states.
“North Carolina Farm Bureau topped the list again this year, continuing to be the only insurer consistently earning an A+. Chubb (A), Acuity Insurance (A-), Michigan Farm Bureau (A-), Alfa Mutual (A-), and Erie Insurance (A-) also were among the highest-graded insurers. While many of the highest-graded insurers — including Amica (B+), Grinnell Mutual (B+), Mutual of Enumclaw (B+), and Wisconsin Mutual (B+) — do not sell policies in all 50 states, consumers are likely to find one or more of the “Honor Roll” insurers offering coverage where they live.”
CRASH Network’s John Yoswick added, “Given how infrequently many drivers file a claim, it’s nearly impossible for consumers to know ahead of time how well any insurance company will take care of them when it really matters. The ‘Insurer Report Card’ gives the repair industry a way to communicate to consumers what shops see every day in terms of which companies are better at taking care of policyholders when they have a claim — and which ones have room for improvement. That can give drivers something meaningful to consider, aside from just price and name familiarity, as they choose an insurer.”
Repairers said they gave lower grades to insurance companies because they “select terrible parts, using price as the only factor,” “won’t pay for the repair procedures designated by the automakers,” and “are chronically understaffed and super slow,” sometimes adding days or weeks to the repair time.
CRASH Network found the 2025 report card to be “remarkably consistent” with last year’s; specifically, eight of the 10 highest-graded insurers were also in the top 10 last year.
The 2025 “Insurer Report Card” findings can be downloaded for free at crashnetwork.com/irc.
In July, the spring 2024 “Who Pays for What?” survey results from CRASH Network and Collision Advice showed that more repair shops are researching OEM repair procedures. Sixty-one percent (more than 3 in 5) of shops said they’re doing so for “all” or “most” of the vehicles they repair. About 700 shops participated.
That made for a nine percentage point gain since 2020.
“It’s still not a high enough percentage because this must be done every time but at least awareness of this vital step is increasing,” said Mike Anderson, Collision Advice president owner, in a news release. “OEM information is complex and can change. I recently wrote an estimate on three of the same year and model of vehicles but the alignment procedures and battery disconnect procedures were different based on trim levels and engine types.”
Nearly 17% of respondents acknowledged that they never or “only occasionally” research OEM procedures when preparing an estimate or repair plan — a percentage that has held steady since 2020, the release states.
The surveys have consistently found that about half of shops say the estimator or repair planner primarily researches OEM procedures while another 35% say an estimator and technician do it jointly.
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Featured image provided by CRASH Network