Aug. 13, 2014—For the first time in 10 years, State Farm has fallen from its top spot as Oregon’s best insurance provider, according to a recent survey of Oregon collision repair shops.
The survey, conducted by the Northwest Automotive Trades Association (NATA), asked shops to grade the state’s top 20 auto insurers by rating their policies, attitude and payment practices. Roughly 500 shops received the survey, which brought in more than 50 responses.
State Farm has consistently ranked as the number one shop on the list, which has been released eight times since 2004. This year, the insurance provider fell to number four, with a C+ grade, down from a B+ last year. The grade ties State Farm with insurance companies like Progressive, Ameriprise and The Hartford.
NATA noted that this is the first year that State Farm has required that shops in Oregon use PartsTrader, a web-based, collision replacement part sourcing, quoting and ordering system. Multiple shop owners in the survey said the new requirement was the reason they gave the insurance company a lower grade this year.
Oregon Mutual and Mutual of Enumclaw, two Northwest-based companies, tied for the top spot on the list, each with a B grade.
On the other end of the spectrum, Farmers Insurance held steady this year from last year with a D+ grade at the bottom of the list.
“Collision repairers say the insurers receiving the highest grades–which includes both larger and smaller insurance companies–do the best job of taking care of Oregon drivers after an accident,” Barbara Crest, NATA executive director, said. “We hope consumers will take these ratings into account when choosing an auto insurer, and that insurers that received lower grades will work to improve their performance.”
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