How does your homeowners insurance company rank? The one time you don't want to find out they rate at the bottom of the list is when its time to file a claim. Insurance companies are good at taking your premium payment every month, but when it comes to paying out claims some companies rate better than others.

Most of us never think about our homeowners insurance until its time to file a claim. In fact, we can go years of just sending in our premium payments and never even so much as calling up our agent to say hello. Then comes the day when you need to file a claim and you find out that red tape and bureaucracy are the name of the game. Recently this situation played out all too well during Hurricane Katrina where certain homeowners insurance companies fought tooth and nail to keep from paying out claims to victims of this devastating event.

Thankfully there are a number of ways you can find out just how good your insurance company is and if they can do more than just issue a quote without a fight. A number of online and offline resources track insurance company ratings and custom satisfaction scores to help you be a more well-informed consumer.

A.M. Best (www.ambest.com) is one such source that provides information about the financial health of your homeowners insurance company. They track the ability of insurers to pay for losses in the event of a major disaster. Their rankings are the industry standard for measuring the financial well-being of all property, casualty and life insurance companies.

When it comes to actual consumer satisfaction ratings the data isn't as well-kept as the financial ratings. A number of websites offer consumer feedback on insurance companies as well as reports from policy holders on general insurance company handling of routine inquires. The best source of insurance company satisfaction ratings may come from others in your community who often have first-hand experience with many of the local homeowners insurance companies in your area.