Progressive's web site came out on top in a survey that studiedhow well 22 major auto insurance web sites matched up with theexpectations of those viewing the sites. Insurers Geico, LibertyMutual, Nationwide, and MetLife Auto & Home came in second,third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.

The study, which was conducted by the Customer Respect Group,focused on three areas for analysis: ease of use, responsiveness,and trust (data-handling practices and how well they areexplained). The report also contains an examination and assessmentof the auto insurance-specific features of each site.

The study compared auto insurance web sites against all otherindustries, noting areas where auto insurers excelled and wherethey needed work. Insurance sites led all other types of web sitesin the following categories:

Twenty-three percent of the web sites provided live chat (vs. 18percent)

Forty-five percent used CSS for page layout, helpingaccessibility (vs. 37 percent)

Sixty-eight percent of text links were recognizable andconsistent (vs. 59 percent)

Sixty-eight percent of responses to emails arrived within a day(vs. 60 percent)

However, the report stated several weaknesses that they found oninsurance web sites that were not as common in other non-insuranceweb sites:

Thirty-six percent of sites do not have a search facility (vs.20 percent)

Fourteen percent of sites did not offer online contact methodsfor site visitors (vs. seven percent)

Only 47 percent of companies responded to all email inquiries(vs. 74 percent)

Only nine percent of sites allowed users to "skip navigation" –an accessibility aid (vs.18 percent)

Eighteen percent of sites contained inconsistent navigationsystems

With a list of winners comes a list of losers. Rounding out thebottom five insurers were the web sites of USAA Group, GMACInsurance, 21st Century, The Hartford, and Mercury CasualtyGroup.

To view the entire study, click here.

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