While claimants in the South tend • to be just as satisfied with their insurers overall, on average, than those elsewhere in the United States, they tend to be significantly less satisfied with their property claims experiences.

Insurance claimants older than 54 • indicate having received all of the top service practices more often than younger claimants -and are more satisfied overall.

Claimants -particularly those under • 35 years-prefer electronic communications (online and e-mail) when receiving updates regarding the claims process.

The 2010 U.S. Home Claims Satisfaction Study measures insurance customer satisfaction with the property claims experience by examining five factors: settlement; first notice of loss; appraisal; service interaction; and repair process.

 

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The study is based on surveys from nearly 3,000 insurance customers nationally who filed a property claim between November 2008 and April 2010 and evaluates 13 insurance companies, including Allstate, American Family, Amica Mutual, Auto-Owners Insurance, Erie Insurance, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Safeco, State Farm, The Hartford, Travelers and USAA.

NCOIL Debates Aftermarket Parts At Boston Meeting

BOSTON — Lawmaker attending the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) took another step on a model law to limit insurer use of aftermarket crash parts, with the intention of protecting consumers from poor quality and possibly unsafe products.

NCOIL’s action on the draft Model Act Regarding Motor Vehicle Crash Parts and Repair included adoption of key amendments on disclosure and accountability. However, a final vote will not be taken until the November meeting.

Prompted by a spirited debate on a draft amendment that would deem certified aftermarket parts to be equivalent to original equipment manufacturer (OEM) versions advanced by Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy (D-Hopkinton, R.I.), the legislators and representatives of the aftermarket parts industry and the auto repairers industry tried to determine whether aftermarket crash parts are inferior to OEM parts.

“In lieu of pursuing the ‘deemer’
amendment,” announced Property-
Casualty Insurance Committee Chair
Sen. Ruth Teichman (KS) after the
meeting, “we’ll take up a different
proposal in November regarding the
kind, quality, safety, fit, and perfor-
mance of aftermarket crash parts. The
new language would have insurers
make certain that an aftermarket part
warranty is at least as good as what’s
there for an OEM.”
Among amendments adopted, one
would allow an insurer to specify use
of aftermarket crash parts as long as
the company disclosed to consumers
that it might – rather than it would
– use non-OEM parts. A second
amendment would give violators of
disclosure/prior consent provisions
30 days to remedy the problem.

An issue of concern during the discussion was whether recall systems for non-OEM parts are as successful as car-company efforts. An aftermarket part representative said that her company has an internal process for addressing defective parts. A certification representative said the auto repairers are made aware of decertified parts and that the repairers contact affected consumers. A car manufacturer representative said that both recall systems are less effective than those for OEMs.

 

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Currently the model law – the result of years of NCOIL debate on aftermarket part – would require disclosure and consent prior to crash part repair/replacement; establish conditions in which insurers could specify use of aftermarket crash parts; mandate permanent, transparent identification of crash parts; and promote accountability.

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