The top car insurance companies have the best rates, plain and simple. But they also need solid customer service—nobody wants to deal with a company that ignores complaints or leaves you on hold for hours. You can judge customer service by looking at complaint ratios, how many calls they actually handle, real customer satisfaction surveys, and where they rank in industry categories. If a car insurance company has tons of complaints, it’s not making our top list. I’m focusing on the top five here because there are way too many companies out there running questionable schemes to make a profit.

You’ve got several tools to help you find the top five car insurance companies: The Shop Around Quotient, A.M. Best and Company, The National Insurance Car Assessor’s Association, The Financial Planning Association of America, and The Insurance Information Institute. The Shop Around Quotient is pretty handy for comparing different insurance companies and figuring out who’s offering the best discounts. It’s straightforward—just punch in your zip code and you’ll get a list of insurance companies in your area.

A.M. Best and Company uses a pretty complex rating system to evaluate every insurance company out there. They look at customer satisfaction, cost, coverage types, customer service, claims satisfaction, discounts, and service quality. They also factor in the country’s economic health and other big-picture stuff. The National Insurance Association focuses more on coverage limits, deductibles, and whether the company is financially stable. They crunch statistical data to create auto claims satisfaction scores for each state.

Here’s the thing—according to financial planner associations, every single insurer claims they have the best customer service. Most of these groups say an insurer needs rock-solid financial stability to be worth your time. The NNA says car insurance should be affordable, which seems obvious enough. Each insurer has their own way of figuring out what to charge you. Some base their fees on risk factors, others focus on customer service, but most offer different types of coverage to choose from.

The ratings show that the most affordable premiums come from insurance providers with the strongest financial ratings. Rating companies say the best financial strength rating for an insurer is A+. They also found that drivers who get discounts and perks from their policies can save up to five hundred dollars per year.

When you’re picking an insurance provider, don’t ignore the discounts and perks. Some auto insurance companies give you breaks for insuring multiple cars with them. Drivers who’ve taken defensive driving courses usually get discounts too. There are also discounts for young female drivers who are twenty-five or younger. And if you’ve been to a car crash school, you’ll almost certainly get better rates.

But here’s what I’ve learned—the cheapest policy isn’t always the best policy. Too many drivers just grab the first cheap car insurance they find because they don’t realize there are better deals out there. When you’re comparing auto policies, you need to look at several things. Check what kind of discounts are available. Most discount programs reward drivers who help reduce traffic congestion. You should also think about your driving record and how that affects your rates.

A bunch of drivers got a nasty surprise last year when Geico crashed into an oil rig off the coast of Venezuela. The company got hit with a $1.75 million fine after investigators found that drivers on the road had been overbooking and didn’t have proper insurance documentation. Drivers in the Geico passenger line were overbooking by two hundred percent. Even after this mess, Geico still has an A financial strength rating, and they’re working hard to fix their reputation.https://www.youtube.com/embed/4gzV5HQt6JU