Claims - July 2017

• Size of premium increase correlates with satisfaction: Satisfaction scores average 726 among customers who experience premium increases of $25 or less. Among those with an increase of $200 or more, satisfaction declines by 188 points to an average of 538.

• All hail, Texas: While price satisfaction at the national level declines just 1 point in 2017, there are wide variations in price satisfaction at the regional level. Texas experiences the sharpest decline (- 13 points) amid a rash of catastrophic losses — on top of collision losses — stemming primarily from hail storms. Texas is followed by New York (- 10 points), the Northwest region (-9 points) and the Southwest region (- 5 points) among those regions experiencing the largest year-over-year declines in price satisfaction.

• Telematics increase customer perception of value: Usage-based insurance programs, which leverage telematics technology to set insurance premiums based on how far and how safely a customer drives, may be the great equalizer when it comes to customer perception of price. Price satisfaction scores are between 54 and 72 points higher among customers who are usage-based insurance participants, even when those participants have experienced premium increases.

• Communication clarifies value: Carriers can minimize the negative impact of insurer-initiated price increases by providing clarity and transparency in policy coverage. Satisfaction among customers who received a price increase averages 645 compared with 768 among customers without an increase; however, when carriers notify customers of a price increase in advance of the change, provide helpful information on customers’ bills, and when customers say they completely understand their policy, price satisfaction averages 755.

5 factors examined for customer
satisfaction

The 2017 U.S. Auto Insurance Study
examines customer satisfaction in five
factors (in order of importance):
1. Interaction
2. Policy offerings
3. Price
4. Billing process and policy information
5. Claims
The study is based on responses from
45,624 auto insurance customers, and
was fielded in February-April 2017.
NATIONAL REPORT