Which US health insurers have the best reputation?

Americans are broadly agreed on the utility of health insurance: in fact, two-thirds say they believe the government should make sure everyone has it (65%). But these supportive feelings don’t necessarily extend to health insurance companies themselves: half of the public also say they have a hard time understanding what their insurance covers (51%). Trust, clarity, and reputation are important to the customers of these insurers, whose product can quite often have a direct impact on quality of life – for better or worse.

So which providers have the best reputation among Americans?

Data from YouGov BrandIndex shows that, between October 2020 and October 2021, the brand with the highest average Reputation score (which tracks whether consumers would be proud or embarrassed to work for a company) is State Farm. The brand, which targets the lower-priced end of the market, scored 22.2 over the 12-month period. Blue Cross Blue Shield, the insurance federation based in Chicago, was three points behind in second with a score of 19.2, and Allstate – came in third with 17.9.

Together, these insurers make for an all-Illinois top three – followed by Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare with a (not particularly close) fourth placed score of 13.1. Here the gaps between insurers narrows: UnitedHealthcare Prudential (12.9), Liberty Mutual (12.4), and MetLife (12.2) are all within a point of each other in terms of Reputation, and Aflac isn’t far behind (11.8). Louisville, Kentucky-based Humana completes our table with a score of 10.2.

Methodology

YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Reputation scores are delivered as a net score between –100 and + 100. Figures are based on a four-week moving average. Learn more about BrandIndex.

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