Lessons from a Little Guy

A independent survey of 50 New Jersey auto repair facilities — conducted by research firm USA/Direct — ranked Teachers Auto Insurance of New Jersey ahead of companies such as AIG/21st Century, Liberty Mutual, Geico, and Progressive when it came to repairers' satisfaction.

Specifically, the survey asked body shops to rate insurance companies on how well their practices and policies supported quality of repairs, speed of repairs, and the overall customer experience. In all three categories, repair shops ranked Teachers higher than its four other competitors.

For instance, when asked about how a company's policies and practices contributed to a positive overall customer experience, repair shops scored Teachers one-and-a-half times higher than Liberty Mutual and two times higher than AIG/21st Century. When compared to Geico and Progressive, Teachers was ranked three and five times higher, respectively. Similar survey results were found in the other two categories listed: quality of repairs and speed of repairs. Geico and Progressive consistently ranked lowest, while AIG/21st Century and Liberty Mutual consistently placed second and third.

The company cited customer service initiatives as one of the top reasons for its high ranking, including door-to-door valet claim service and mobile claim service centers. “These results are very consistent with our own claim satisfaction surveys, which show satisfaction over 95 percent,” said Marc V. Buro, president of Teachers.