Car Insurance Companies in Philadelphia: Who Sells Policies and How to Check Them

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department counts more than 200 insurers in the state’s personal auto insurance market. A Philadelphia driver meets them in three forms: a local agent, a company’s own website or phone line, and a name at the top of a renewal notice.

This page on car insurance companies in Philadelphia names no company and ranks none. It explains how car insurance is sold here, how to check any company or agent with the state before you pay, what the law lets a company do to a policyholder and what it does not, how a claim has to be handled, and where to turn when no company will take you.

Car Insurance Philly is a referral service, not an insurance company, agent or broker. It does not sell or quote insurance, does not recommend one insurer over another and does not advise on coverage. When you call or send the request form, we take your request and connect you with a licensed Pennsylvania insurance agent, and only that agent can quote or advise.

Three ways a policy is sold

The Insurance Department’s guide describes where auto insurance can be bought, and the difference matters when you are comparing.

Seller	Who they represent	What that means for you
Independent agent	Several insurance companies	Can compare policies and sell you one from among the companies they represent. One conversation, more than one company.
Captive agent	One insurance company only	Sells that company’s policies. To compare, you go to other agents or companies as well.
Direct company	Itself	Sells by phone or online without agents. In some cases you can deal with the company entirely over the internet.

An agent is paid by commission, which the Department defines as a portion of the policy premium paid to the producer by the insurance company as compensation for the producer’s work. It is fair to ask an agent which companies they represent before you start.

Who does what once you are insured

• The insurer is the company that issues the insurance and agrees to pay for losses and provide covered benefits.
• The producer, or agent, is the person or organization authorized to sell, solicit, negotiate and service policies for an insurance company.
• The adjuster manages a claim and determines what will be paid in accordance with the policy and the facts.
• The appraiser evaluates the damage and determines the amount to be paid under the policy terms.
• A premium finance company, if you use one, is a lending institution that finances the premium for a fee. The finance agreement is a separate contract from the policy.

How to check a company or an agent with the state

The Insurance Department’s records are open to anyone. Its company and agent research page brings the tools together.

1. Confirm the license. The Department’s search lets you find and research a licensed insurance company, producer or agent and verify the license status. Search the name the agent gives you, and the name of the insurance company on the quote.
2. Look at complaints. The Consumer Complaint Comparison Tool lists consumer complaints lodged against insurance companies. You search it by year and by type of insurance.
3. Search enforcement actions. The Regulatory and Enforcement Action Search covers corrective actions the Department has taken after investigations, complaints and audits.
4. Check the finance company. If the premium is being financed, the Department has a separate search for premium finance agencies.

The Department’s advice is that cost matters, but so do customer service, whether the coverage offered is adequate, and any history of complaints or misconduct. Its rule of thumb is to compare at least three companies. Do the lookup for any agent, including one this site connects you with. If a name does not appear, ask the agent for the exact name on the license and search again before you go further.

How the state keeps rates in check

An insurer cannot simply charge what it likes. Companies submit rate requests to the Insurance Department, which says it carefully reviews each one, often challenges them, and will not approve rates that are excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory. When necessary, it says, it works with insurers to revise, resubmit or withdraw unreasonable requests.

• For 2023, the Department reported blocking $64.3 million of personal auto premium increases through its rate review.
• For 2025, it reported saving consumers $91 million from that year’s filings, and said the private passenger auto filings it approved averaged a 0.2 percent rate decrease.
• In April 2026, it said recent filings that year averaged a 0.5 percent decrease, after significant average increases from 2022 to 2024.

Those are statewide figures. When The Philadelphia Inquirer asked the Department why premiums in the city had risen faster than in the suburbs, the Department said it had not tracked those costs for Philadelphia specifically. The car insurance in Philadelphia page sets out what the public record shows about the city.

What a company may and may not do to a policyholder

Pennsylvania law puts limits on how an auto insurer treats applicants and customers. These are the ones a Philadelphia driver is most likely to need.

Subject	The rule
Deciding whether to insure you	The Insurance Department’s guide says companies may not unfairly discriminate by using underwriting standards based on things such as race, religion, nationality, ethnic group, age, gender, family size, occupation, place of residence and marital status.
Setting your rate	Insurers are prohibited from charging different rates based on race, religion, national origin and gender. Where the vehicle is garaged is among the things taken into consideration for the premium.
Refusing to write a policy	If you ask, the agent must submit your application to the insurer or give you written notice of the reasons for the refusal, and you may ask the Insurance Commissioner to review it.
Your tort choice	A company may not cancel, refuse to write or refuse to renew a policy because you chose full tort or limited tort.
Non-renewal	A company can only non-renew you on the annual anniversary of when the policy was first written, even if the policy term is less than 12 months.
Late payment	State law does not require a grace period. If the premium has not been received by the due date, the company can cancel.
Surcharges	No rate increase solely because you made a claim and were paid, unless you were at fault in contributing to the accident. No surcharge for a first party medical claim. The company must give you its surcharge disclosure plan when you apply and at least once a year.
Small claims	No cancellation, refusal to renew or surcharge where the insurer’s total cost over the preceding three years is under a threshold, measured above any deductible. The Insurance Department’s notice puts the threshold at $2,350 from July 1, 2026.
Refunds after the company cancels	Where the statute applies, an insurer that cancels a policy must return the premium you paid, less the share for the time the policy was in effect, within 30 days. Overdue return premiums bear interest at 12 percent a year.

If you get a cancellation or non-renewal notice

The Department’s guide says to contact the agent or company first for the specific details, because the law allows companies to cancel or non-renew policies only for certain reasons. If you are not satisfied, send the Insurance Department a statement explaining why you disagree. To preserve your appeal rights, the statement must be received by the Department within 30 days of the company mailing the notice. A cancellation is still reported to PennDOT. The Vehicle Code says proof that you made a timely request for the Insurance Commissioner’s review stays a registration suspension while the review is decided.

How a company has to handle a claim

The Insurance Department’s guide says insurance companies, by law, must investigate a claim fairly and promptly, and it sets out the deadlines.

• The company has 10 working days to acknowledge that it has received notice of your claim, unless it pays within those 10 days.
• On a claim to your own insurer, it has 15 working days after receiving properly executed proofs of loss to tell you whether the claim is accepted or denied, or to explain in writing why it needs more time.
• It must complete its investigation within 30 days of receiving notice of the claim, unless that cannot reasonably be done. After that, every 45 days it must explain the delay and say when a decision may be expected.

The choice of where your car is repaired is yours, whether or not the company recommended a shop. If you choose a shop that charges more than the appraised amount, you may be responsible for the difference. Pennsylvania permits aftermarket parts, and an appraisal that includes aftermarket crash parts must say so. If your insurer pursues the party who was legally liable, it is required to include your deductible in the recovery if you ask.

A vehicle is a total loss when returning it to its condition before the damage would cost more than it is worth, or when it is too badly damaged to repair. If the car’s actual cash value is less than you owe on it, you may be responsible for paying the difference to the lender. Gap coverage, where a policyholder has bought it, generally pays the difference between the insurer’s payment for a totaled vehicle and the balance of the loan.

Theft claims, the Philadelphia case

In this city the claim may be a theft, not a crash. Philadelphia County accounted for 68 percent of the auto theft reported in Pennsylvania in 2025, according to the state’s crime reporting figures as of March 2026. A stolen car is paid for under comprehensive coverage, less the deductible, and only if you bought that coverage. When you compare companies, you can ask each how it values a stolen car, what it needs from you and from the police report, and whether rental reimbursement applies while the claim is open. And if a car of yours ends up in a Philadelphia Parking Authority impoundment lot, the Authority returns it only on presentation of a valid driver’s license, current registration and proof of current insurance.

When no company will take you: the Assigned Risk Plan

Some drivers cannot get coverage on their own because of their driving history. Pennsylvania law deals with this through the Assigned Risk Plan, adopted by the Insurance Department for applicants who are entitled to motor vehicle liability insurance but unable to get it through ordinary methods.

• Every motor vehicle liability insurer in the state must subscribe to the plan and take part in it.
• Applicants are assigned to insurance companies in proportion to the amount of business each writes in Pennsylvania, so you do not choose the company.
• The plan’s rates are subject to rate regulation and may not be inadequate, excessive or unfairly discriminatory.
• The plan provides for paying the premium in installments.
• It may provide a way for drivers insured under it to move into the ordinary market at the same or lower rates.
• Cancellation, refusal to renew and other termination of a policy issued under the plan follow the rules of the plan.
• PennDOT accepts a copy of an application to the plan, signed by a licensed agent or broker, as proof of insurance.

An application is signed by a licensed agent or broker, so that is who to ask. The Insurance Department’s guide points drivers to the website aipso.com to learn more about the plan.

Driving for Uber or Lyft

Some drivers use their own car to carry paying passengers. The Insurance Department’s guide warns that most personal auto policies do not provide coverage while you are carrying a passenger for hire. The transportation network company should have coverage in place, but you need to understand what it covers. Some insurers offer to endorse coverage onto a personal policy, usually for an additional premium. The Department’s advice is not to drive for one of these companies until you are sure the coverage you need is in place.

Filing a complaint about a company or an agent

Start with the agent or the company, and keep notes of dates and names. If that does not settle it, the Insurance Department is where a complaint goes. It asks consumers to report insurance problems through its Consumer Services Online portal, which is linked from its complaints and help page, where its Consumer Services Bureau also takes questions.

Know which agency handles what. A policy canceled in error, or canceled without proper notice, is a complaint for the Insurance Department. A suspended registration or a civil penalty is PennDOT’s. If the two are connected, PennDOT says that, at your request and with proof of current insurance, it can be asked to hold a suspension notice while the Insurance Department reviews the complaint.

Comparing companies is easier once you know what you are asking them for. The car insurance quotes in Philadelphia page covers the process, and the best car insurance in Philadelphia page covers what the law says about each coverage.

Questions and answers