WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIF. — If they have to make a claim, homeowners are much more satisfied and more likely to renew their policies with their insurers if they have a positive claims experience, according to the annual J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Home Claims Satisfaction Study.
In fact, claimants are also more likely to recommend their insurers to others if their claim goes well. Among home insurers that provide highly satisfying claims experiences (satisfaction scores of 840 or higher on a 1,000-point scale), 71% of their claimants indicate that they “definitely will” renew with their insurer and only 4% say that they have switched insurers since experiencing their homeowners claim. Similarly, 67% of these claimants say they “definitely will” recommend their insurer to others.
In comparison, among insurance companies with lower levels of satisfaction, only 53% of claimants say they plan to renew, while 10% say that they have switched insurers. Fewer than one-half (48%) of these claimants say they “definitely will” recommend their insurer.
“Suffering a property loss and filing
a claim tends to be an emotional-
ly charged experience-often more
so than an auto claim,” said Jeremy
Bowler, senior director of the in-
surance practice at J.D. Power and
Associates. “As a result, the property
claim represents a moment of truth
for insurance claimants regarding
their insurers, so it’s particularly im-
portant that the claims experience
is handled in a satisfying manner to
ensure claimants remain with the in-
surer in the long run.”
The study found that insurers per-
forming key service practices – such
as clearly explaining the claims pro-
cess, giving claimants an expectation
of how long the claim will take and
ensuring claimants know who to
contact with questions – may consid-
erably improve satisfaction with the
claims experience.
Among claimants who say that their insurer delivered on all of the top service practices, satisfaction averages 929 points. In comparison, satisfaction drops to 650 among claimants whose insurers missed four or more of the top service practices.
“Delivering on key service practices is crucial to providing a satisfying claims experience, but only 17% of home insurance claimants say their insurer delivered on all 10 practices,” said Bowler. “The home claims process tends to be extremely complex, with an almost infinite variety of homes in the country that vary in terms of architectural styles, age, materials, building codes, etc.”
Excess, Surplus & Specialty Lines
Property, General Liability, Umbrellas, Inland & Ocean Marine, D&O,
E&O, Liquor Liability and Program Business
Agency Intermediaries, Inc. P.O. Box 451 Guilford, CT 06437
Phone 1-800-922-3347 / Fax 1-800-522-3331
A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc. P.O. Box 1139 East Douglas, MA 01569
Phone 1-800-262-7475 / Fax 1-800-545-8331
He added, “All of this makes standardizing the claim handling process more difficult. However, every insurer may reap benefits by driving greater consistency in customer handling, particularly in terms of education, empathy and service convenience.” Amica Mutual, Auto-Owners Insurance and USAA perform particularly well among insurers in providing claimants with a satisfying property claims experience.
The study results also include the fol-
lowing significant trends:
Insurance customers in rural areas •
more frequently say that their in-
surer delivered on key performance
indicators, compared with those in
urban areas, despite usually hav-
ing fewer options during the repair
process.
References:
Archives