Top 10 Insurance TV Brands, Ads

January 4, 2013

  • January 4, 2013 at 1:31 pm
    jw says:
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    After all I have learned by reading the comments on IJ, I can’t watch insurance commercials.

  • January 4, 2013 at 2:24 pm
    Lisa Lincoln says:
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    My favorite, Travelers with the adorable dog, isn’t listed!

    • January 4, 2013 at 2:28 pm
      Agent says:
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      Liberty Mutual is by far the classiest and well done. They preach responsibility and that is a good thing. Most of the others are goofy and appeal to the Morons out there and are pure fluff.

      • January 4, 2013 at 2:54 pm
        SWFL Agent says:
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        Good point but unfortunately there are more “morons out there” than others.

        • January 4, 2013 at 3:17 pm
          Agent says:
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          You are right SWFL. Look who we just re-elected. That proves that there are a lot of morons out there. We also have the iphone/electronics freaks who never look up from them and text 200 times a day. They have no idea what is going on in the world.

          • January 7, 2013 at 3:31 pm
            Gork says:
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            Relax “Agent”, sit back, take a deep breath. No one is going to take your guns, your bible, your large spouse or your small paycheck away from you – it will be okay…

        • January 7, 2013 at 11:15 am
          Whodathunkit says:
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          If it wasn’t for those morons, we wouldn’t sell anything. Stupidity is the cause of 90% of all losses, it keeps us in business.

          • January 7, 2013 at 11:37 am
            Agent says:
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            Writing Morons can also ruin your Loss Experience with your markets too. If we deal with Morons, we make sure they are in the appropriate market and that might be Progressive for Auto since they will write almost anything for a price.

          • January 7, 2013 at 4:06 pm
            Agent says:
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            Gork, Your name fits you perfectly. Are you a close relative of Captain Planet? Judging from your comment, you are a good candidate for Moron of the Year. Go back to downloading some more goofy apps on your iphone and leave the serious discussion to the adults in the room.

          • January 8, 2013 at 1:10 pm
            Captain Planet says:
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            Agent, I resent your comment but understand your opposition to Gork’s. But, I love it when you interject me into the mix. Makes me feel missed. I missed you, too, Agent. Now, where is Libby?

      • January 4, 2013 at 4:35 pm
        Mr. Solvent says:
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        You mean responsible like running out on the Florida property market?

        It makes me a happy camper as an independent but the customers sure aren’t.

        • January 4, 2013 at 5:43 pm
          Agent says:
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          Who hasn’t run out on the Florida market Solvent? Hurricane alley. Texas has its problems in the property area as well with a large coastline where wind has to be written through the association and every other kind of weather imaginable. There is a property market, but the state has the highest premium for HO in the country for a good reason.

        • January 7, 2013 at 1:26 pm
          Insider says:
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          Work for Liberty. We got out of the market in FL, because the state would not allow us to charge proper amount of premium to make up for the regular annual loses. If a company continually pays out more than it takes in; it will not survive and has to withdraw from that market. You have your FL gov’t to thank for that one.

        • January 8, 2013 at 6:22 pm
          Agent says:
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          Planet, don’t you think Gork sounds like an alien name? Remember the old TV show, Mindy & Mork and Robin Williams played Mork who was an alien. It was a goofy show, but Pam Dawber, Mark Harmon’s real life wife was very hot so the show was popular for a few years.

          • January 9, 2013 at 1:17 pm
            Captain Planet says:
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            Yeah, it was a pretty funny show. Odd, but back then, it wasn’t just actors like Robin Williams who were coked up all the time, the writers were, too. Heck, they all probably still are. I can still see the rainbow suspenders. Nanu-nanu, Agent.

      • January 19, 2016 at 10:44 am
        ala139 says:
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        They do preach responsibility. That’s true, but having worked there for 3 years before working at my present job, I can tell you that it’s one thing to preach it and another to live it. I spent 3 years trying to justify 22% rate increases to little old ladies on fixed incomes with no claims. It was soul-sucking. Responsibility better be your policy, because it certainly isn’t theirs.

  • January 4, 2013 at 2:56 pm
    Rusty says:
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    Interesting that almost all of the top 10 are direct writers which isn’t surprising. First because they need to advertise directly to their prospects. And second, coupled with historic agency company “dislike”, for lack of a better word, of the retail personal lines market, especially auto insurance, has almost by default, driven most of the business into the direct and captive insurance companies which have in turn become some of the largest insurers by premium volume than the rest of the marketplace. Notice, too, that recent acqusitions of agency insurers by direct writing and captive insurers (Allstate/Encompass, Liberty Mutual/Peerless, Nationwide/Harleysville) and you realize that market approach has proved the most successful over the years. As an independent agent for 50 years, I have seen this trend unfolding for as long as I have been in the business, recalling the many times I was frustrated with agency company personal lines auto insurance underwriters being so very picky while my direct writing/captive competition was writing all the auto insurance they could get their hands on. Now everyone wants auto insurance, but those with the lion’s share, the funding to advertise for it and the technology to write it will grow even larger, especially in this age of online transactions.

  • January 4, 2013 at 3:59 pm
    Interested says:
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    All ads are brainwashing – initally developed by Sigmund Freud’s brother. Lucky for me, I have a DVR and watch only DVR stuff – all commercials get passed over.

    • January 4, 2013 at 5:57 pm
      Agent says:
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      Interested, I TEVO a lot of programming so I can click past the commercials. I don’t need to see Flo standing in the rain to rescue some poor slob 20 times a night. On the shows I don’t record, when a commercial comes on, I just switch to another station for a couple of minutes. Works like a charm.

  • January 4, 2013 at 5:23 pm
    ExciteBiker says:
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    I sure do get a lot of direct mail advertising. I cannot help but wonder what a personal auto independent agent might think about a carrier sending weekly direct mail solicitation to policyholders the agent currently has written with one of that carrier’s other writing companies. What would motivate an independent agent to continue placing business with a carrier that is aggressively competing against them with its own direct offerings?

    • January 4, 2013 at 5:49 pm
      Agent says:
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      How about Allstate quoting my HO & Auto by getting info from a database. They knew what cars I had and quoted both lines. I complained to the Insurance Dept, but it did no good. These companies are invading privacy every chance they get. By the way, their quotes sucked and they offered inferior coverage, limits etc hoping to sell a price.

      • January 5, 2013 at 9:52 am
        mark says:
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        and thats the key they only have price and a loud expensive voice! What our channel needs is a loud voice, IIABA??? I think I see ONE trusted choice ad per year.

        • January 7, 2013 at 10:39 am
          Agent says:
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          Trusted Choice isn’t much. We joined, got our little stickers, put their logo on our ads, got a one time payment on advertising and they were through. As far as I know, we have never got a lead or written a policy just because we were a Trusted Choice agent. Between all the companies out there who are in Trusted Choice, it seems they could contribute to a pool for advertising and do more than they have.

  • January 7, 2013 at 11:06 am
    FabIns says:
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    Surely the Big I doesn’t have the funds of Berkshire Hathaway to promote YOUR brand. The idea behind Trusted Choice is that of a partnership. Many carriers have signed on, but let’s be honest, they don’t even promote their own brands – they are so cheap they rely on their agents to do it. That is counter to the idea of being an independent agent. Some SR22 Mills will purchase a Progressive sign to gain visibility off of their ads, but what does that say about your agency? The other key to the partnership is you. YOU must promote the Trusted Choice brand, but in doing so, you also need to differentiate yourself from “fast food” insurance companies whose agents are less knowledgeable, or which rely on the customers to make their own coverage decisions, hence their own coverage mistakes. I wish those Trusted Choice Carriers would be paying less than lip service, but I’ve been around in this business long enough to know that I won’t be holding my breath.

  • January 7, 2013 at 11:40 am
    Phil Harr says:
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    The strength of Trusted Choice relies on the local presence of Trusted Choice agencies. If agents are involved locally and highlight the values of Trusted Choice Independent Agents all members will be raised with them. Agents want to advertise their agency not the brand. That’s fine if they just include the brand whether it’s traditional ads, speaking, networking, social media, on-line websites or involvement in ProjectCap. With 22,000 agencies and 37,000 location Trusted Choice Independent Agents are the largest insurance sales force in the Nation.

  • January 7, 2013 at 2:18 pm
    shawn morris says:
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    this rating is quite contradictory in saying that the ratings were based on being informational. Progressive and Geico and Farmers insurance adds all are based around just trying to be funny and have hardly any informational content at all. In fact they are an insult intelligence and I call these Low IQ Adds Allstate’s adds are flat out fraudulent and It amazes me how they get away with promoting that their claims handling and service as being superior yet for those very reasons are why Allstate is rated as being the worst Insurance company in the industry!!! I put little credibility in these ratings. If their based on how much each company spends to advertise and saturate the market with their constant uninformative Low IQ fraudulent adds then this rating would make some sense. Liberty Mutual does have good adds and does deserve it’s rating but all others are just a spending competitition. These adds appeal to the process known as “the dumbing down of America”. Get factual and still incorporate some humor but for goodness sakes when you think Geico and Progressive and Allstate especially are informative an factual you have been grossly misled and really do not look for the real information that matters in what to look for in a good insurance company. I turn the channel on my radio or TV anytime most of these insurers adds come on the air because most are noninformative and when they do state information it is fradulent. Just like Geico saying they have local agents “everywhere”. In the city I live in of 1 million people they have 1 office yet get away with saying they have agents “everywhere”. What a joke and embarrassment to the integrity of our industry and the education of the public these adds are. This should be a rating for the top 10 worst ! Very skewed and out of touch with reality.

    • January 7, 2013 at 3:19 pm
      Agent says:
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      Shawn, you are right. Most of the ads I have seen appeal to the dumbed down consumer who think these ads are “cute”. They promote the idea that they can save a consumer $500 over their competition. That is blatently dishonest. These online people are not even licensed and are just order takers. Forget about advice on coverage. This is all about selling a price.

  • January 7, 2013 at 3:28 pm
    shawn morris says:
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    They have reduced insurance to a version of a fast food drive through where they dwell on “quick” and “cheap” insurance. They mislead people into thinking there is no more to their insurance coverages than the terms “liability” and “full coverage” on auto’s. Companies like Geico & Progressive also mislead by saying they do home insurance, when they do not do home insurance. They broker out their property policies and give a 3% discount off of the auto. Would the average consumer decide on a doctor or dentist based on quick and cheap? Would they pick a mechanic or attorney based on quick and cheap? The false advertising is also employed by State Farm and Geico on running adds stating a specific dollar number they promise to save anyone who calls them for a quote? That is an impossibility and a bait and switch tactic commonly known in the field of dirty sales tactics. Fraudulent false advertising is what almost all of these companies on this top ten worst list consist of.

  • January 7, 2013 at 5:24 pm
    shawn morris says:
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    geico commercial just ran on the radio went something like this:
    “your money clip would like to shake your hand but it can’t , it does’t have hands” , ” so if you want to shake your money clips hands remember it doesn’t have hands”! How much more Low IQ can an insurance company be ? Thanks Geico, You prove my point every time you run an add in any capacity. You have got to be the worst insurance company with a multi zillionaire funding you and completely polluting the insurance industry with your stupid lizard with an english accent, dumb pig and cavemen who have no rhyme or reason to anything that come out of their imaginary mouths. Hey Geico, progressive and Allstate why don’t you go into comic books or video games where you don’t have to deal with REALITY! It certainly is missing in any of your advertising departments.

    • January 7, 2013 at 6:16 pm
      Agent says:
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      Shawn, would you rather Flo rescue you from the storm that caused your accident? She is getting a little long in the tooth now and Flobot is much better looking.

  • January 7, 2013 at 6:46 pm
    shawn morris says:
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    Agent: Flo’s neon red lip stick does nothing for me that’s for sure and her humor is as dry and low IQ as the cave men on the Geico commercials. Sure love how they fraudulently advertise to also run rates for you with all their other competitors and refer you to them if it comes out less. Anybody ever really think how would progressive have access to all the other companies data base and quoting systems to make good on such a fairly tale? They will say anything to appear like the good guys of the insurance business and they have been rated dead last out of 40 companies in my area for years on how the repair shops rate them for handling claims efficietly and accurately. Flo is a fraudbot !!

    • January 8, 2013 at 12:24 pm
      Agent says:
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      I don’t know how Progressive gets their info on other companies rates to quote comparisons. They probably have geeks who hack systems or they just make it up. I do know how Allstate works through databases etc. When they bought Esurance, they had access to several companies databases and supposedly quote several. I have a feeling they have tweaked the system to make Allstate look better than their competitors. Seems like a conflict of interest to me, just sayin.

      • January 8, 2013 at 1:15 pm
        Captain Planet says:
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        Hey Agent – Discount Double Check!

        Actually, from purely a marketing perspective, the use of professional athletes has long been proven effective. Just ask Wheaties – does that cereal even have a taste? Not a surprise State Farm would take a run at MVP Aaron Rodgers.

        Go Pack Go!

        • January 9, 2013 at 8:05 am
          SusieQinthe Midwest (In WI) says:
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          Those commercials make me chuckle… But also sad, because of this “discount double check” has ruined his end zone “dance.” Never the less, GO PACK GO.

          • January 9, 2013 at 1:21 pm
            Captain Planet says:
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            Yeah, they’re hilarious. Not at all really informative, but funny. I think we’ve gone from “sex sells” to “sex and/or funny” sells. Make someone laugh, they associate the happiness with the product, product sells.

      • January 8, 2013 at 2:22 pm
        jw says:
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        Shawn & Agent (and anyone else who’s curious) – rates and rating rules are available as open records for anyone (yes ANYONE) to request. Many companies (insurers and third parties) actually request the records for the top competitors.

        • January 9, 2013 at 3:26 pm
          Agent says:
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          You are a riot Planet. I would imagine you like Mayhem on the Allstate commercials the best since he fits your personality. You are probably in love with the very over the hill Flo as well. I am not sure a makeover will work on her at this stage.

  • January 11, 2013 at 9:27 am
    Independent Agency Owner says:
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    Sadly, I am puzzeled by most Carrier ads on TV, just wonder what lowest common denominator they are shooting for. This is the GIECO and Progressive Ad legacy.

    • January 11, 2013 at 11:03 am
      Agent says:
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      Hey Independent, I think the lowest common denominator is to appeal to an IQ in the range of 60-80. They take their cue from many other companies advertising which appeals to people that don’t have a brain. I like the Liberty Mutual commercials because they preach personal responsibility, but most of them are abominable. The new AIG ad is nauseating thanking America for saving them after what they did, then contemplating suing the government for the terms of the bailout.

  • January 17, 2013 at 1:51 pm
    punkin says:
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    really??? really?? farmers ads are less than humorous and informational and certainly classless! i think they are trying to draft themselves, with prof burke, after flo….and it ain’t working……commercials need to be of substance, informational ..they need to appeal to the demographic consumer that they now claim they want! these commericals and most likely the new ones on teh horizon are not going to do it!



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