National Press Release

Survey of auto repair facilities shows significant differences in repair quality, speed, and customer experience

RED BANK, N.J., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Caution! Not all insurance companies are the same when it comes to fixing your car! In a blind survey of 50 New Jersey auto repair facilities performed by USA/Direct, an independent research firm, Teachers' Insurance Plan of NJ was shown to be superior to AIG/21st Century, Liberty Mutual, GEICO, and Progressive.

The survey asked body shops to rate insurance companies on how well their practices and policies supported quality of repairs, speed of repairs, and the overall customer experience.

For quality of repairs, Teachers handedly beat Liberty Mutual, and AIG/21st Century; scoring over 2 times higher than Liberty Mutual, and 2-1/2 times higher than AIG/21st Century. Teachers' results surpassed those of GEICO and Progressive by staggering percentages, scoring nearly 4 times higher than Progressive and 6 times higher than GEICO.

In the same survey, for speed of repairs Teachers out-performed Liberty Mutual and AIG/21st Century; scoring 1-1/2 times higher than those two larger, national companies. Teachers leapfrogged over GEICO and Progressive scoring 3 times higher than GEICO and 4 times higher than Progressive.

When asked how the company's policies and practices contributed to a positive overall customer experience, Teachers again outpaced the field of mammoth competitors; scoring over 1-1/2 times higher than Liberty Mutual and rating over 2 times higher than AIG/21st Century, 3 times higher than GEICO and over 5 times higher than Progressive.

One shop commented in the survey that Teachers and its affiliated companies were rated the best, writing that "...they have the best customer service. I would gladly refer this company to any of my customers!"

"AIG/21st Century, Liberty Mutual and GEICO compete with Teachers in the New Jersey educator market. What these results show clearly is that bigger isn't always better," said Teachers Auto Insurance of NJ President Marc V. Buro. "At Teachers Insurance, we know New Jersey. We build our business on having positive partnerships with schools and districts across the state. Our local knowledge and focus on New Jersey enable us to deliver on our promise to provide outstanding value -- great rates and top quality," said Buro.

"It sometimes seems like insurance companies just don't care how your car is repaired, how long it takes, or how difficult the experience is for the customer," says Rick Adam, Vice President in charge of claims services at Teachers Insurance. "Teachers' Insurance cares about educators in New Jersey."

"At Teachers, we have three goals when it comes to fixing your car," says Buro. "One is to make sure the repairs to your car are absolutely top quality. The next is to make sure your car is repaired as quickly as possible with no unnecessary delays. Finally, we want to make sure the experience is easy for you. These results are very consistent with our own claims satisfaction surveys which show satisfaction over 95%," said Buro.

Teachers offers unique and innovative services such as Door to Door Valet claims service and its fleet of Crashbuster(R) Van mobile claims service centers. Teachers works collaboratively with your auto repair facility to make sure your car is repaired right, not just cheap. These are just a few more reasons Teachers is more than just insurance.

The surveys were conducted via phone and email between December of 2008 and January of 2009. Out of 1,700 licensed body shops in NJ, 170 were selected for this survey based on having sufficient experience with Teachers to render an opinion. Of the 170, 50 completed the surveys. Companies were evaluated on each criterion on a 10 point scale with 10 being excellent and 1 being poor.

Teachers Auto Insurance Company of New Jersey provides auto insurance exclusively to employees (active and retired) of New Jersey licensed educational facilities. Studies show that educators as a group are lower risk and have fewer claims, so Teachers' Insurance Plan of New Jersey can offer lower rates to the education community than insurance companies who insure everybody. For more information, please visit www.NJ-TEACHERS.com

USA/DIRECT, is a New Jersey research firm in operation for nearly two decades. Their experience is based on decades of hands-on, client-side Madison Avenue and Fortune 500 market research and marketing background. USA/DIRECT offers the complete range of studies for new product development and established brand repositioning including market studies to determine new areas of opportunity, branding, concept and product testing, test market research, national category tracking, customer satisfaction benchmarking and tracking, corporate image and issues of public importance. USA/DIRECT has been awarded the Marketing Research Association's highest PRC "Expert" Rating.

SOURCE Teachers' Insurance Plan of NJ