USAA Insurance has the highest and best overall reputation among insurers, according to a new report from the Reputation Institute.

The insurer landed in the top spot based on criteria including strong reputation, relevancy, expressiveness (brand strength, informativeness, relevancy), products and services, governance, citizenship and innovation. USAA topped the 2018 U.S. Insurance RepTrak ranking – which covers property/casualty, life and health insurers along with investment firms.

MetLife, New York Life and Blue Cross Blue Shield grab the second, third and fourth spots, respectively, on the overall list. The next property/casualty insurers on the list are Hanover Insurance Group at No. 5, and then Progressive Corp. in 6^th place, according to the report. (The outfit also compiled a listing of just P/C insurers, which is embedded in this story.)

In issuing the report, the Reputation Institute said that insurers have reputational challenges that other industries don’t.

“The insurance sector has unique challenges. What drives insurance is not identical to other industries,” said Brad Hecht, executive vice president and market leader of Americas at Reputation Institute. “Innovation, workplace and performance have higher impact on reputation for the insurance industry when compared to healthcare and financial industries. If insurance companies want to differentiate from financial services and healthcare companies, they should focus their efforts on these dimensions.”

The research that informs the RepTrak report is based on more than 2,920 individual ratings from U.S. consumers, addressing 44 nominated companies. According to the Reputation Institute, the survey quantifies the emotional bond consumers have with “leading companies and how these connections drive supportive behaviors such as intent to purchase, trust, work for or invest in the company.”

The insurance industry has an average 71.3 reputation score as of September, up from 65.9 in February 2018, according to the survey.

As the top insurance company, USAA scored a 75.7 ranking. The next highest P/C carrier – Hanover Insurance – scored a 69.8, followed by Progressive at 69.4, Farmers at 69.2 and Allstate at 68.9.

The Reputation Institute describes itself as a “data-driven reputation insights advisory firm and provider of peer-to-peer membership services.”

Source: Reputation Institute