How We Rate Insurance Companies

When you see a carrier recommendation on Blixly, it's backed by a structured evaluation process that weighs multiple dimensions of insurer performance. We don't simply rank carriers by price or popularity—we assess them across five key factors that collectively determine the quality of coverage a consumer can expect. Here's exactly how our rating system works.

Rating Factors

Each insurance carrier we evaluate is scored across five weighted categories. The weights reflect the relative importance of each factor to the average consumer's insurance experience:

Each factor is scored on a 1–10 scale based on available data. The weighted scores are combined to produce an overall carrier rating that informs our rankings and recommendations. Carriers must meet a minimum threshold across all categories to be recommended—a carrier with excellent pricing but poor financial stability, for example, would not receive a top recommendation.

Our Data Sources

Reliable ratings require reliable data. We draw from the following sources to evaluate each carrier:

• AM Best: The gold standard for insurance company financial strength ratings. We reference both the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (ICR) for each carrier.
• S&P Global Ratings: Supplementary financial strength assessments that provide additional context on carrier stability and claims-paying ability.
• J.D. Power: Annual customer satisfaction studies across auto, home, and health insurance segments, including claims satisfaction and shopping experience scores.
• NAIC: The National Association of Insurance Commissioners provides complaint ratio data that measures how many complaints a carrier receives relative to its market share.
• State Insurance Filings: Rate filings, regulatory actions, and market conduct examination reports from state insurance departments.
• Carrier Websites & Policy Documents: Direct review of coverage options, policy language, and digital tools available to consumers.

How Often We Update

Our ratings are not static. The insurance market changes constantly, and our ratings reflect those changes through a structured update cycle:

• Quarterly Updates: Every quarter, we refresh our data inputs—including financial ratings, complaint ratios, and pricing data—and recalculate carrier scores. If a carrier's score changes materially, we update our rankings accordingly.
• Annual Comprehensive Review: Once per year, we conduct a full-scale review of our methodology, weighting structure, and data sources. This review may result in adjustments to category weights or scoring criteria based on evolving consumer priorities and market conditions.
• Event-Triggered Reviews: Major events—such as a carrier's credit downgrade, a significant regulatory action, or a large-scale claims controversy—trigger an immediate review of that carrier's rating outside the normal update cycle.

Limitations

Our ratings are designed to provide useful, data-driven guidance for insurance consumers, but they come with important limitations that every reader should understand:

• Not a Substitute for Professional Advice: Our ratings are educational tools, not personalized insurance recommendations. Individual coverage needs vary based on factors like location, claims history, property details, health conditions, and financial situation. We strongly encourage consumers to consult with a licensed insurance agent or broker before making coverage decisions.
• Individual Results Vary: The premium you're quoted by any carrier will depend on your specific risk profile. A carrier that ranks highly for average pricing may not be the cheapest option for your particular situation.
• Data Availability: Not all carriers disclose the same level of data. Smaller regional carriers, in particular, may have less publicly available information, which can affect the completeness of our evaluation.
• Market Timing: Insurance markets move quickly. While we update our data regularly, there may be brief periods between updates when published ratings don't reflect the very latest market changes.