There are ways to check whether a small car insurance company can pay your claim, if and when the time comes. For starters, a company's financial strength rating indicates its past ability to pay claims. By looking at this rating, you can get an idea as to whether the company has had financial issues in the past and will be able to pay out future claims. While a strong financial strength rating does not offer a guarantee of paying future claims, it may help you weed out any providers that aren’t financially solvent. Financial strength scores are typically issued by third-party companies like AM Best, Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s. You may also find it helpful to check each company’s independent third-party customer satisfaction scores, like the ones listed in the 2021 J.D. Power Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, although smaller insurance providers aren’t always rated as part of these studies.