Financial Service Firms That Treat You Like a Star

As a personal finance publication, we spend a lot of time evaluating the numbers when we recommend financial institutions and their products. We spotlight banks that offer high-interest rates and low fees on checking and savings accounts, and we note credit card issuers that provide ample cash back or points on everyday spending. When you’re in the market for a mortgage, we encourage you to shop for a low-interest rate, and we advise you to regularly compare premiums on home and auto insurance policies. // But many would argue that exceptional customer service is just as important as low fees or competitive interest rates. An insurance company is worth its weight in gold if its agents are responsive and fair when you’re dealing with a damaged car or home. A mortgage lender that helps pave the way to a smooth close on a home purchase can save you a lot of headaches. And banks and credit card issuers with strong customer service teams can quickly put a lid on fraudulent activity or other problems with your accounts.

- LISA GERSTNER

That’s why we’re introducing our rankings of large companies with the best customer service in four categories: banking, credit cards, mortgages, and home and auto insurance. We started with 10 large companies in each of those categories, then crunched a lot of numbers to determine the champions. We conducted a national survey of current customers to gauge their experiences with the companies and identified the top five based on the results. For each of those businesses, we considered consumer complaints made about the institutions to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). We also evaluated the companies’ responses (or lack thereof) when we contacted them to pose questions as a potential new customer, and we reviewed their mobile apps to get a sense of their digital prowess.

Then we pulled it all together to give each company a score and award medals to the overall first, second, and third place winners in each category. We’ve also chosen the companies with the best digital capabilities in each category, based on customers’ ratings of their digital services in our survey as well as our own reviews of their mobile apps. And we delved deeper into our customer satisfaction survey to see which firms stand out for high net-worth customers as well as those in certain age groups. (For more details on how we made our selections, see the box on page 70.)

BANKS

GOLD: Capital One

SILVER: TD Bank

BRONZE: Chase

Best Digital Tools: Capital One