Choosing an insurance company is a responsible and difficult decision. The main problem is that this service is treated exclusively as a way to generate income, with both sides of the transaction. Clients do not have a sufficient knowledge base to understand which product they need, and some insurers use it. When choosing a company, you need to pay attention not only to the untwisted brand and positive reviews (not always objective), but also to other indicators.
Factors
There are a number of indicators on the basis of which people decide with which insurance they should conclude an agreement: the location of the branch, the cost of the policy, the competence of the insurance agent - all these factors should be taken into account, but none of them should be decisive.
The insurance company must be reliable in the first place, that is, be able to make payments even in the most disadvantaged period and not go bankrupt. Moreover, payments must be timely. It also makes sense to conduct a general analysis of indicators that are available in open sources of information, on the websites of companies, and data from information and analytical agencies. The choice of an insurer is complicated by the large number of companies present on the market, as well as the variety of information from economic portals and rating agencies. Let's try to understand these data in more detail.
License
Only accredited insurance companies are entitled to provide services to protect the interests of clients. More than 400 organizations are licensed in the Russian Federation, and each of them has several hundred agents. Therefore, before concluding a contract, it is necessary to check with the agent which organization he represents, and then check on the MTIBU website for her license. Reliable insurance companies are registered in the Russian Federation and have extensive experience in their field.
Financial stability
The activities of insurance companies should generate income sufficient to cover current needs and pay compensation to customers. It is easy to track these indicators even without an economic education.
Financial stability is the company's ability to fulfill its obligations in any situation. If the client is going to conclude a contract for a long period (for example, life insurance), then it is advisable to predict the most likely development of the organization. To do this, you need to track the following indicators on the website of the Bank of Russia Service:
- Registered capital. Its size should exceed the minimum established by law (240 million rubles for life insurance, and 120 million rubles for other insurers).
- Assets. An increase in financial investments, property and material values indicates a positive dynamics of the company’s development, if the size of the collected premiums increases in parallel.
- An insurance portfolio is the number of contracts concluded, which is displayed in kind (individually) and in money terms. Under each contract, the company must transfer a certain amount to the reserve. Amid the growth of the insurance portfolio, a decrease in the amount of reserves is a warning sign. This trend indicates that the company lacks current revenues, and funds are allocated for compensation.
- The company can consistently conclude new contracts, but reduce or not pay fees on old contracts at all. This trend is evidenced by the low level of payments against the backdrop of portfolio growth.
- The best insurance companies transfer part (5-50%) of risks to large western companies.The more reliable the reinsurer, the higher the commission he will take, which will affect the size of the insurance premium, but the higher the probability of payment to the client.
The data of insurance companies should be analyzed in dynamics for the reporting and previous years.
Reviews
Each insurance case is individual. Often, a negative feedback is caused by the client’s ignorance of the terms of the contract, and a positive feedback is advertising. It is better to focus on reviews about insurance companies obtained firsthand (friends, acquaintances, relatives). If possible, try to contact a forum member and clarify the details of a specific situation. Negative reviews are usually written in a fit of anger. In addition, do not forget that every company has avid fans and skeptics.
Tariffs and bonuses
Low prices for services are usually offered by new companies that are trying to attract more customers. At the initial stage, these steps may be justified. But in the future, such a strategy threatens bankruptcy.
Insurance companies of St. Petersburg and other large cities can provide discounts to regular customers and bonuses for the purchase of additional services. This characterizes the insurer on a positive side and means that the company compares its obligations with opportunities.
Territorial affiliation
The factor seems to be not significant, but it should be taken into account. Large organizations are trying to expand their network in all regions of the country. But this does not mean at all that St. Petersburg insurance companies will provide the same quality of service to residents of the capital, Belgorod and Vladivostok. Residents of small towns should focus not on ratings, but on customer reviews, and contact local organizations.
Comparison
After analyzing several organizations and choosing 2-3 suitable ones, do not be too lazy to visit company offices in your city. If employees answer all questions, warn about payment conditions, try to choose an individual tariff, this indicates a high quality of service. Ask the company’s specialists for calculations of the services you are interested in and a sample contract so that at home in a calm environment you can compare conditions and disputed issues.
Reliability Rating
Various listings of insurance companies do not give a complete picture, but it’s worth focusing on some of them. All organizations are divided into 5 categories: class A (best insurance companies), class B (acceptable), class C (low level of reliability), class D (organizations in bankruptcy) and class E (license revocation).
Factors
The largest agency Expert RA annually analyzes the activities of insurers by financial and relative indicators.
External factors:
- size and dynamics of assets, UK, volume insurance premiums and payments;
- company position in certain market segments (its entry into associations, reputation, brand, relations with regulatory authorities, specialization);
- corporate governance (financial potential, ownership structure, risk management, quality management, information infrastructure, auditor, reporting);
- geography (the presence of a developed branch network).
Insurance business:
- diversification of the insurance portfolio, its profitability, risks;
- structure of the customer base, regular customers, percentage of terminated contracts, distribution channels of policies;
- reinsurance: reliability and diversification of reinsurance coverage, ratio of maximum payout to equity.
Financial performance:
- liquidity and solvency;
- profitability and loss-making;
- investment policy.
The agency’s methodology is presented to illustrate the complexity of evaluating a company even using mathematical methods of analysis.
When looking at a rating, it is important to remember the following nuances:
- Reliability assessment is a paid procedure. The absence of the company in the listing does not mean anything.
- Official data should be compared with "popular" ratings and customer reviews.
- It is necessary to analyze not one, but listings at once for several periods.
Grading scale
Reliability rating is of two types: official and "national". The second are mainly based on positive reviews and the prestige of the company. They are very subjective, have the right to exist, but are not compiled according to standard methods of analysis.
Let us consider in more detail how to decipher the ratings in listings.
| Score | Value |
| A ++ | The most reliable insurance companies that ensure timely fulfillment of obligations. Even in the face of worsening macroeconomic indicators, the probability of default is very low. |
| BUT | A company with a high probability of ensuring timely payments, even in the face of worsening market performance |
| B + | A satisfactory level of reliability is exposed to companies whose probability of timely fulfillment of obligations is moderate. If conditions arise that require significant one-time payments, a high probability of financial problems |
| AT | For companies with a low level of reliability, the probability of fulfillment of obligations depends on the stability of macroeconomic indicators |
| C ++ | The probability of default is high |
| C + | Companies with this rating face revocation or suspension |
| WITH | The organization does not fulfill all or part of the obligations |
| D | The organization is in bankruptcy. |
| E | The company has its license revoked |
In addition to the national, there is also an international rating scale. Grades in it are set on the same principle, but there are more sublevels (AAA, AA, A). In addition, such ratings also provide development forecasts:
- positive - a high probability of an increase in assessment;
- negative - the likelihood of a downgrade;
- stable - the likelihood of maintaining the current rating in the medium term.
Forecasts may change throughout the year. Therefore, you should not focus on them.
Reliable CTP insurance companies
Once a year, 42 million car owners purchase auto insurance policies. Of these, 5 million people additionally insure their risks by buying a hull. But after a unified risk assessment system was introduced, the amount of compensation is calculated depending on the organization’s policy. How in this situation to choose an insurer? Focus on reviews about insurance companies will not work.
On the one hand, the spread in compensation amounts has become much less than before. But companies must calculate the cost of repairs according to the methodology approved by the BR. At the request of the same regulatory body, the level of payments should be 77% of the amount of funds raised. To fulfill this condition is quite difficult. When buying a policy, money is paid to the cashier of the company. An insured event may occur in a year. And the total payment period prescribed by law is generally 3 years. That is, the funds of the insurance company should be directed to the formation of reserves in large volumes. But the level of payments is one of the criteria for evaluating an organization.
So it turns out that the highest official rating in 2015 was earned by Ingosstrakh, Rosgostarch, Alfastrakhovanie, Renaissance, RESO-Garantia, and the ratio of the percentage of payments to the amount of premiums received by companies is 59%, 51%, 74%, 68% and 47%, respectively. And this despite the fact that all of the organizations listed are among the top ten “popular” ratings.
To determine reliable insurance companies, you need to focus not only on the listing data, but also the conditions for repairing the vehicle, the cost of the policy, the location of offices and other criteria.
Memo: how to choose an insurance company
- Choose several specialized insurance companies based on rating, financial analysis or feedback.
- Check the status of the license for each of the organizations through the MTIBU website.
- Ask brokers which reliable insurance companies specialize better in a particular type of service.
- Make your choice.