Auto Insurance SimpleScore Methodology

SIMPLESCORE

The SimpleScore is a proprietary scoring metric we use to objectively compare products and services at The Simple Dollar.

For every review, our editorial team:

Identifies five measurable aspects to compare across each brand
Determines the rating criteria for each aspect score
Averages the five aspect scores to produce a single SimpleScore

Here’s a breakdown of the five aspect scores and their rating criteria for our review of the best auto insurance companies of 2020.

Discounts

We looked at the number of discounts each company offers –– more discounts mean a higher score.

Aspect Score	1	2	3	4	5
Number of discounts offered	0–3	4–7	8-11	12-14	15+

Coverage options

We awarded higher scores to the companies that have the most coverage options.

Aspect Score	1	2	3	4	5
Beyond basic coverage	Basic coverage	Basic + 1 extra	Basic + 2 extras	Basic + 3 extras	Basic + 4 or more extras

Support

We awarded higher scores to lenders with the most channels for customer support.

Aspect Score	1	2	3	4	5
Support channels	Office-only support	1 + phone support	2 + web-based support	3 + mobile app support	4 + tools

Customer Satisfaction

We leveraged the J.D. Power 2019 Auto Insurance Satisfaction Study℠ to see how customers rated their experience with each company. (If a company wasn’t included in J.D. Power’s study, we skipped this aspect and averaged the four remaining aspect scores.)

Aspect Score	1	2	3	4	5
J.D. Power Rating	1 circle	2 circles	3 circles	4 circles	5 circles

Accessibility

We looked at the level of accessibility of each company –– the more resources they have the higher their score.

Aspect Score	1	2	3	4	5
Accessibility options	Website with coverage options	1 + custom quote online	2 + online claims	3 + mobile app claims	4 + more resources

Why do some brands have different SimpleScores on different pages?

To ensure the SimpleScore is as helpful and accurate as possible, we developed unique criteria for every category we compare at The Simple Dollar. Since most brands offer a variety of financial solutions, their products and services will score differently depending on what we’re scoring on a given page.

However, it’s also possible for the same product from the same brand to have multiple SimpleScores. For instance, if we compare State Farm’s home insurance according to our criteria for the best home insurance, it scores a 3.8 out of 5. But when we compare State Farm according to the criteria for the best auto insurance, it scores higher, since the features the company offers can vary by the type of insurance.

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