Methodology
How we rank local insurance agencies
The same formula for every agency, built only from facts anyone can check. Here is every rule and every point.
Reviewed by Bryan DeVore, Founder, Quote My Policy ·
Who can be on a list
- An independent agency: its own website says it represents or compares more than one insurance company. Agents who represent a single company are not ranked against agencies that can shop several.
- A physical office in the city or area the list covers.
- At least one person named on the agency’s website whom we found in the South Carolina Department of Insurance individual license search.
- On a coverage list (car, home, business, boat), the agency’s website must say it offers that coverage.
- Not Quote My Policy, and not an agency where one of our reviewers works or that one of them owns.
How the 100 points work
| What we score | How | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Years in business | 1 point per year since the founding year the agency publishes, up to 25. If it states a length of time instead ("over 20 years"), we use that number. Experience claimed by staff, rather than by the agency itself, does not count, and no published figure scores 0. | 25 |
| Personal coverage offered | 2 points for each of auto, home, renters, condo, life, umbrella, boat, RV, motorcycle and flood that the agency's website says it offers. | 20 |
| Business and farm coverage | 8 points if the website offers business insurance, 2 more if it offers farm coverage. | 10 |
| Licensed people we could check | 3 points for each person named on the website whom we found in the South Carolina Department of Insurance license search, up to 5 people. | 15 |
| Transparency | 5 points if the website names its agents or staff, 5 if it publishes office hours. | 10 |
| Convenience | 5 points each for an online quote request, evening or Saturday hours, and service in a language besides English. | 15 |
| Depth on the topic | On a coverage-specific list, 5 points if the agency has a page dedicated to that coverage. On a general list, 5 points if it has dedicated pages for at least three coverages. | 5 |
Ties go to the agency with more licensed people we could check, then alphabetical order. Every agency card shows its own breakdown.
What we never use
- Payment. No agency paid to be listed or to move up, and none was asked to take part.
- Reviews and star ratings. They change daily and can’t be checked the same way for everyone.
- Prices. Premiums depend on the person, the property and the insurer, not the agency alone.
- Our opinion. If the facts on an agency’s website change, its score changes with them.
Where the facts come from
Everything except the license check comes from the agency’s own website: its founding year, the coverage it lists, its hours, its staff, its languages and whether it takes quote requests online. If a website doesn’t say something, we don’t assume it, and that item scores zero. Each list shows the date its facts were checked.
Corrections and additions
If a fact is wrong, or your agency meets the rules above and isn’t listed, email info@quotemypolicy.com with your website. We check it the same way as everyone else, and the formula decides where it lands.