21ST CENTURY RANKS HIGH VALLEY CAR INSURER MAKES J.D. POWER'S TOP 4.

Byline: Chris Sieroty Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS - 21st Century Insurance Group rated high marks from policy holders, according to J.D. Power and Associates' inaugural customer satisfaction analysis of the industry released Monday.

The Woodland Hills-based company ranked fourth, said Frank Forkin, partner at J.D. Power and supervisor of the National Auto Insurance Customer Satisfaction Study.

The survey was based on responses from more than 13,000 auto insurance policy holders nationwide, he said.

``It confirms what we have believed and have advertised to our customers all along: that we are a home-grown company providing excellent service at very attractive prices,'' said Ric Hill, vice president of communications for 21st Century.

``This is also significant given all the publicity surrounding the Northridge Earthquake and validates our position that we have provided excellent service to our customers,'' Hill said.

21st Century offers auto insurance to 1.4 million policy holders in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Nevada.

Amica Mutual ranked the highest in the study, followed by Erie Insurance and State Farm Mutual Insurance.

Based in Lincoln, R.I., Amica sells auto policies nationwide, while Pennsylvania-based Erie Insurance operates in 10 Eastern and Midwestern states and the District of Columbia.

Forkin said the top auto insurance companies all have one thing in common, and that is they are constantly able to meet customer requirements related to service, billing and handling claims.

The primary drivers of overall satisfaction with an automotive insurance carrier include:

--The ability of the carrier to fulfill the commitments made at time of purchase.

--The ongoing support and guidance provided by company personnel.

--The billing practices and price competitiveness.

``In general, unlike other service-related industries, automotive insurance customers are generally satisfied,'' Forkin said. ``The study also shows that the ability to settle claims is important to those policy holders who have filed a claim.''

However, only 34 percent of policy holders reported filing a claim in the past three years.

``Therefore, the interaction between customer and agent is based on more mundane things like renewing a policy,'' he said.

Forkin said the Internet is changing the traditional agent/policyholder relationship.

While only 7 percent of consumers have used the Internet in the past to shop for auto insurance, 32 percent indicate they intend to do so in the future, the survey said.

``Not only are consumers shopping actually carrier Web sites, but they are also searching various sites, including Insweb.com, Insquote.com, Quotesmith.com and Autotrader.com, to find the best price,'' Forkin said.

Hill said 21st Century is in the process of making a number of changes to the company's Web site to make it easier for policyholders and those shopping for auto insurance to get the information they need.

USAA, an insurance provider open to only active and retired military personnel and their immediate families, and therefore not included in the ranking, scored highest among all companies included in the study.

CAPTION(S):

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Chart: SATISFIED CUSTOMERS

Here is a look at how drivers rate their insurance companies. The rankings are based on a scale of 0 to 1,000: 0 being unacceptable and 900 to 1,000 truly outstanding.

SOURCE: J.D. Power and Associates