Shopping for the best car insurance? Sure, price is certainly an important factor to consider. But what else should you keep in mind as you shop? Take a moment to review three small steps that will insure you are getting both the cheapest and the best car insurance.

1. Start by shopping for multiple car insurance quotes. While this step used to involve hours on the phone while you shopped local agents, you can now use an internet-based quote provider to supply fast multiple insurance quotes from major national insurance companies. (One such company is mentioned at the end of this article.)

2. Once you have your car insurance quotes in hand, it is time to research the business reputation of the companies you are considering. The best way to do this is by visiting the website for the department of insurance in your state. Most departments have websites and many will publish the consumer complaint ratios for all of the insurance companies that sell insurance in your state. This ratio tells you how many complaints have been received by a car insurance company for each 1,000 claims filed.

If your state doesn’t publish a complaint ratio, try checking nearby states to see if they publish this information. While an insurance company may have varying practices in different states, checking its reputation in neighboring states will give you a feel for the general reputation of the company. If they are getting a lot of complaints in other states, there is a good chance you can expect the same customer service in your own state.

3. You aren’t finished yet — now it is time to consider the financial strength of the insurance companies you are considering. As recent economic events have shown, even the largest companies may have weak financial fundamentals. The best way to research the financial strength of a company is to check its ratings at A.M. Best and Standard & Poor. These two companies publish financial ratings for all of the insurance companies. Why is this important to you? Because the financial strength of the insurance company will determine its ability to pay out claims. Which is the only reason you buy car insurance in the first place!

A.M. Best will rate each company with a letter grade from A++ (the highest) to E. An F means the company is in liquidation and S means it has been suspended. You are only interested in companies with at least a B+ rating.

Standard & Poor rates companies from AAA (the highest) to CC. Avoid any company with a rating of R (under regulatory supervision) or NR (not rated). Consider only those companies with at least a BBB rating.

Yes, it is a little extra time and effort to research the customer service and financial ratings of the car insurance companies you are considering. But all of the research can be done on your computer in less than an hour. In the end, you can relax, knowing that you found not only the cheapest car insurance, but truly the best car insurance.

To start shopping for the best car insurance, please visit the website recommended below.