Every "best," "cheapest" and "X vs Y" page on this site rests on one method. This page is that method: how we decide what coverage to compare, how we hold the profile identical, what we score and where each score comes from. If you want to check our work on any carrier comparison, start here.
Richard Johnson Group compares insurance companies coverage first: we define the right limits, deductibles and endorsements, then price that exact policy across every carrier that writes your risk. Each carrier is judged on price at identical coverage, policy forms, AM Best financial strength, NAIC complaint record, claims service, discounts and appetite. Benchmarks are labeled and never presented as quotes.
- Coverage is decided before price. Cheapest means cheapest for the coverage you need.
- Every comparison holds the profile identical: same ZIP, limits, deductibles, endorsements and review date.
- Appetite and financial strength are gates a carrier must clear before its price counts.
- We separate our 25 direct appointments from carriers we reach only through partners.
Do this: before comparing any two quotes, line up the limits, deductibles and endorsements first. Or send us your declarations page and we'll run identical coverage across the carriers that write your home and auto.
You have two quotes on the kitchen table. One is $400 cheaper. You suspect the two policies aren't the same thing, and you're usually right. In our office's experience, when two quotes are far apart, the coverage is different more often than the price is.
This page explains how we compare carriers for a client across the desk and for the comparisons we publish here. It's one of three trust pages: our carrier access and market disclosure lists which carriers we can place and how we're paid, and our rate and quote data methodology explains where our numbers come from. This one is about judgment: how we decide which carrier fits better, and how you can check that decision.
Our comparison method at a glance
| Step | What we do | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Define the right coverage, then shop that exact coverage | Our standard |
| Comparison basis | Same ZIP, limits, deductibles, endorsements and review date for every carrier | Our standard |
| Financial strength | AM Best Financial Strength Rating, from A++ (Superior) down to D (Poor) | AM Best |
| Complaint record | Complaint index; 1.00 means complaints match market share | NAIC; state regulators |
| Carriers included | 25 direct appointments, plus partner-placed carriers labeled as such | Carrier access page |
| Rate figures | Benchmarks carry publisher, date and profile; never presented as quotes | Methodology page |
| Review cycle | Comparison pages re-checked quarterly, with a last-verified date | Our standard |
Why Do We Define Coverage Before We Compare Prices?
The short answer: because a price only means something attached to a specific policy, and the easiest way to lower a premium is to quietly remove coverage you'll need later.
The coverage-first rule means we settle what the policy should contain before any carrier is asked for a price. Quote engines skip this step and return each carrier's default, so the "cheapest" result is often the thinnest policy. Coverage first doesn't mean the most coverage. It means coverage that matches what you have to protect: liability and uninsured motorist limits sized to your assets, as explained in our Georgia auto insurance guide, and for a home a rebuild-cost dwelling limit and an honest look at roof settlement, as in how to compare home insurance quotes in Georgia.
Once locked, those six stay locked. If a carrier can't offer one, we show you the gap rather than swap in something weaker.
What Does an Identical-Profile Comparison Look Like?
The short answer: every carrier sees the same person, property, coverage and date, so the only thing left to differ is the carrier.
An identical-profile comparison holds every rating input constant except the carrier. For a client, that's your real profile from your declarations page; for a published comparison, it's a sample profile printed on the page.
| Held identical | Why it matters | Status |
|---|---|---|
| ZIP code | Carriers rate territory differently; Ringgold and Atlanta can price far apart | Always held |
| Liability, UM limits and UM election | Georgia's add-on and reduced-by forms pay very differently | Always held |
| Deductibles | A percentage hail deductible can hide thousands in out-of-pocket cost | Always held |
| Endorsements | A missing endorsement makes a quote look cheaper | Always held |
| Review date | A comparison is only true as of a date | Always stated |
| Credit tier, record, claims | Real for a client; a stated assumption for a published sample | Real or disclosed |
The mechanics of running real quotes this way are in our quote data methodology, and the reader's checklist is in how to compare car insurance quotes in Georgia. This page covers what we do with the results.
A Columbia County homeowner with a $300,000 dwelling limit gets two quotes. Carrier A is lower but carries a 2% wind and hail deductible. Carrier B uses a flat $1,000 deductible.
One hail claim erases more than 23 years of savings. Held to the same deductible, the result could go either way, which is the point. Figures are illustrative; deductible options vary by carrier and property.
What Do We Score When We Compare Carriers?
The short answer: seven things. Two are gates, price is scored only at identical coverage, and the rest decide close calls.
Our scoring basis is the set of factors we weigh whenever we say one carrier fits better. We publish the factors, sources and order rather than a single score, because households weigh them differently.
| Factor | What we look at | Source | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appetite | Does the carrier write this risk, in this county, now? | Underwriting guidelines; live quotes | Gate |
| Financial strength | AM Best rating and outlook | AM Best | Gate |
| Price | Annual premium at identical coverage, fees included | Live quotes; named benchmarks | Scored |
| Coverage forms | Roof settlement, UM election, endorsements, exclusions | Carrier policy forms | Scored |
| Discounts | Credits you'd actually qualify for | Carrier published discounts | Scored within price |
| Complaint record | Complaint index over several years, by line | NAIC Consumer Insurance Search | Tie-breaker |
| Claims and service | Claims handling; third-party satisfaction research | Our office's experience; J.D. Power | Tie-breaker, labeled |
In practice: we drop any carrier that won't write the risk or misses the strength standard below, compare annual premium at identical coverage with your discounts applied, and let forms, complaints and claims service decide close calls. A carrier that is $60 a year cheaper but settles your roof at actual cash value is not the better carrier, and we'll say so even when it's the easier sale.
Sources: our carrier access disclosure; Kansas Insurance Department complaint index report (2024); NAIC guide to researching complaints against carriers.
How Do We Check Financial Strength and Complaint Records?
The short answer: financial strength from AM Best, complaint records from the NAIC's public lookup, and both explained in plain English rather than dropped in as a grade.
A financial strength rating asks whether an insurer will be there to pay; a complaint index asks how it is to deal with.
How we use them. The AM Best rating is a gate: if a carrier sits below the range AM Best calls Good, we tell you before we tell you its price. Some regional property carriers are rated by a different agency, and then we name that agency and explain its grade rather than leave the line blank. The complaint index is a tie-breaker, read by line and over several years. Neither number predicts your claim: AM Best says its rating is not a recommendation to buy or drop a policy, and a complaint counts whether or not it was justified.
If you have a problem with any insurer or agent, including us, the Consumer Services Department of the Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire investigates complaints. Call (404) 656-2070 or (800) 656-2298, or file a consumer complaint online.
How Do Claims Service, Discounts and Appetite Factor In?
The short answer: appetite decides who gets to quote, discounts are folded into price, and claims service is a tie-breaker labeled as our office's experience.
Appetite is the set of risks a carrier wants to write. One likes newer roofs; another pulls back from certain counties after a storm season. A carrier that won't write your home isn't a choice, however good its published average looks. In our office's experience, appetite moves faster than price: a carrier that wanted a profile in spring can decline it by fall.
Discounts are scored inside price. We apply every credit you actually qualify for and compare the resulting premium; a long list you won't qualify for counts for nothing. With bundling, we price it both bundled and split, as in how to bundle home and auto insurance in Georgia.
Claims and service are the hardest to measure honestly, so we label both inputs. One is third-party research, such as the J.D. Power U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, cited by name and year. The other is what our office sees when clients file claims: real, but one agency's sample, so it's phrased as our experience and never turned into a statistic. We don't publish our own ratings or scores for any carrier.
How Do We Handle Carriers We Can't Quote Directly?
The short answer: we compare them honestly, label them as partner-placed, and tell you when one is likely the better fit.
A direct appointment means we can quote and bind that carrier ourselves; we hold 25. State Farm, Allstate, USAA and Georgia Farm Bureau sell mainly through their own agents or direct, and we don't hold appointments with them, so we can't bind them ourselves. The full list is in our carrier access disclosure. In a comparison:
- Same method, different label. Partner-placed carriers face the same coverage-first rule and scoring factors, marked "through partners."
- Benchmarks, not live quotes, on the blog. For carriers we can't quote, published comparisons use named third-party benchmarks with profile and date.
- We say when they'd likely win. USAA for an eligible military family near Fort Gordon comes up regularly in our Augusta office.
Who we can quote among the carriers in our comparisons
| Carrier | Richard Johnson Group |
|---|---|
| Progressive, GEICO, Mercury, Travelers | Quote directly |
| State Farm, Allstate, USAA, Georgia Farm Bureau | Through carrier and agency partners |
All four direct carriers are among our 25 appointments as of the last-verified date below. Availability for your product and county is confirmed at quote, not promised in print.
How Do Our Published Carrier Comparisons Work?
The short answer: every carrier-vs-carrier, "best" and "cheapest" page here follows this method, discloses its profile and date, and treats published rates as benchmarks, not quotes.
A published comparison applies our method to a sample profile. It can't price your household, so it shows how two carriers tend to differ on forms, discounts, appetite, strength and complaints, with rate figures attributed to a named publisher. Four publish alongside this page: Progressive vs GEICO car insurance in Georgia, Mercury vs Progressive for Georgia drivers, State Farm vs Allstate home insurance in Georgia and Mercury vs Travelers for Georgia homeowners. Our rankings of the best car insurers and the best home insurers in Georgia follow the same rules.
Each one carries a "how we compared" note with the profile, limits, deductibles and review date; a "who we can quote" block; named sources for every figure; and a last-verified date. A benchmark describes a sample driver or home. It is never your rate.
We re-check comparison pages quarterly, including appointments, figures, ratings and complaint data. If a change alters the conclusion, we change it and say what moved.
Get your home and auto compared the same way
Send us your declarations pages and ZIP. We'll define the coverage with you, then run it across every carrier that writes your risk. See our Georgia home insurance and Georgia auto insurance pages.
When Does This Method Change the Answer?
The short answer: when your profile moves away from a typical one, or the market moves under it. The method stays the same; the winner often doesn't.
- An older roof or recent claims. Appetite narrows the field before price is compared. Options are in home insurance after a non-renewal in Georgia.
- A teen driver, ticket or lapse. Surcharge rules matter as much as base price, so we compare how each carrier treats the event.
- Hard-to-place property. The comparison moves to specialty markets, with the Georgia FAIR plan as the last resort.
- A rating or appointment change. Every comparison naming that carrier is updated at the next review, sooner if material.
- You only want the lowest price. We'll show it, alongside what it leaves out. See the cheapest car insurance in Georgia.
Present a benchmark as your rate. Rank carriers without a disclosed profile and date. Present a partner-placed carrier as a direct appointment. Accept payment for a carrier's position. Guarantee savings. Lower your liability limits or reject your uninsured motorist coverage to win on price. Name or rank other local agencies.
The Bottom Line
We compare insurance companies coverage first: define the limits, deductibles and endorsements your household needs, hold them identical across every carrier, then compare price. Appetite and financial strength decide who gets in; price at identical coverage, with your real discounts, decides most of it; policy forms, complaint records and claims service settle close calls.
We quote 25 carriers directly, label partner-placed carriers like State Farm and Allstate, and treat every published figure as a benchmark. If you'd like this method applied to your home and auto, one form starts it.
Related questions
Because the right weighting depends on the household. A family adding a teen cares most about surcharge rules; a homeowner with an older roof cares most about roof settlement and appetite. A single number would hide those trade-offs, so we publish the factors, their sources and the order we apply them instead.
Commission isn't one of our scoring factors, and no carrier pays for placement on this site. We're compensated by the carrier that issues the policy, which is the standard independent model, and how that works is disclosed on our carrier access page.
Usually, but read it over several years. A small carrier with few policies can swing sharply on a handful of complaints, and a complaint counts whether or not it was justified. That's why we treat the index as a tie-breaker rather than a verdict on its own.
Match the liability and uninsured motorist limits, the UM election, every deductible including wind and hail, the endorsements and the effective date. Then compare annual premium with fees. The full checklist is in how to compare car insurance quotes in Georgia.
Frequently asked questions
How does Richard Johnson Group compare insurance companies?
We compare coverage first. We define the right limits, deductibles and endorsements for your household, then quote that exact policy across every carrier that writes your risk, holding ZIP, limits, deductibles, endorsements and effective date identical. Carriers must clear two gates, appetite and AM Best financial strength, before price counts. Among the rest we compare annual premium at identical coverage with your real discounts applied, and use policy forms, NAIC complaint records and claims service to settle close calls between carriers.
What does coverage first mean in an insurance comparison?
It means deciding what the policy should contain before asking any carrier for a price. We set liability and uninsured motorist limits by what you have to protect, choose deductibles you could actually pay, check roof settlement and dwelling limits on a home, and add the endorsements you need. Those choices then stay fixed for every carrier. Cheapest means cheapest for the coverage you need, not the cheapest policy a quote engine could assemble by quietly removing protection you will want later.
What is the NAIC complaint index?
A complaint index compares an insurer's share of consumer complaints to state regulators with its share of the market for that line of insurance. An index of 1.00 means the two are equal. Below 1.00 means fewer complaints than expected for the company's size, and above 1.00 means more. The NAIC Consumer Insurance Search lets anyone look up a company's complaint history for recent years. We read it over several years and by line, and treat it as a tie-breaker rather than a verdict.
What does an AM Best rating mean?
AM Best's Financial Strength Rating is an independent opinion of an insurer's ability to meet its ongoing policy obligations. A++ and A+ are Superior, A and A- are Excellent, and B++ and B+ are Good. AM Best's own descriptions call financial strength vulnerable from B downward. The rating is not a recommendation to buy or drop a policy, and it says nothing about price or claims service. We use it as a gate and explain each carrier's rating in plain English.
Can Richard Johnson Group compare State Farm or Allstate?
Yes, but we can't bind them. State Farm, Allstate, USAA and Georgia Farm Bureau sell mainly through their own agents or direct to consumers, so we compare them using named third-party benchmarks and label them as placed through our carrier and agency partners. They're held to the same coverage-first rule and scoring factors as our 25 direct carriers. When one of them is likely the better fit for your household, we tell you plainly and can connect you through a partner.
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