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Letter to the Editor

February 2002 Issue of INSIGHT

Who Pays for What?

Insurer approval ratings are directly linked to payment frequencies

The results for INSIGHT's 2002 "Who Pays for What?" survey, included in the January issue, are in, and the number of responses this year topped any other year since INSIGHT first began the survey.

The data from the returned surveys has been compiled into charts separated by the seven major insurance companies.

The charts show payment for 36 of the most common non-included P-page items. How-ever, an overall average of the responses is also included for comparison.

The overall percentage for "never pay" is down from last year's nearly 48 percent to slightly above 42 percent this year. The "sometimes pay" percentage is down three percent this year to 27.6 percent overall.

Since the "never pay" and "sometimes pay" percentages are down, it can only mean one thing - the "always pay" percentage has increased this year. The "always pay" percentage is up 8.5 percent to an overall average of 30.3 percent for the 2002 survey.

Farmers, GEICO, and Progressive have seen the largest rise in "always pay" percentages versus last year.

Farmers' "always pay" percentages are up from 22 percent in 2001 to 35 in 2002, almost five percent above the overall "always pay" average.

GEICO's "always pay" percentages are up from 19.4 percent to 28.5; and Progressive's are up from 16 percent to almost 23 percent. However, both GEICO and Progressive are still under the 2002 overall average for "always pay."

In addition to Farmers, USAA's and State Farm's "always pay" percentages are also above the 2002 overall average.

USAA's "always pay" percentage is two percent above the overall average at 32.3 percent, while State Farm is well above the overall average with an "always pay" percentage of 42.

Last year, INSIGHT discussed State Farm's commitment to working on improved insurer/shop relations. This year it looks as though the work is paying off even more.

State Farm's CSI rating results from this year's survey are well above any other of the major insurers. State Farm is up from an 85 percent approval rating in 2001 to an 88 percent approval rating this year.
Farmers came in second with a 74 percent approval rating, although down from last year.
USAA was given a 68 percent approval rating this year up from last year's rating of 64 percent.
The overall average approval rating was 64 percent. All of the other insurance companies were below this average.
Allstate's approval rating dropped from 62 percent in 2001 to 50 percent this year.
Progressive's rating was only slightly above Allstate's at 51 percent.
Nationwide's rating was also under the overall average at 57 percent.
GEICO's CSI score this year, although below the overall average, was the most im-proved climbing from 56 percent in 2001 to 63 percent for this year.

The most frequently paid item this year is the same as last year, refrigerant recovery. This item has an "always pay" percentage of almost 82 percent. The least frequently paid item has changed from battery disposal in 2001 to solid waste disposal for the year 2002.

As would be assumed, payment frequencies are directly related to insurers' approval ratings - the higher the "always pay" percentages, the higher the CSI ratings.

That being said, the Fair Player Award, once again, goes to State Farm whose attempts to improve shop/insurer relationships are certainly being recognized by shops. This is State Farm's third consecutive Fair Player Award.

There was a tie this year for the Penny Pincher Award. Progressive wins for having the lowest "always pay" percentage marks, and Allstate for receiving the lowest CSI rating.

GEICO is the new recipient of the Most Improved Award for its 13 percent increase over last year's CSI rating. o

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