3 Insurers Recognized for Claims Performance

Auto-Owners Insurance, The Hartford and USAA  received top mention in a new J.D. Power and Associates study investigating customer satisfaction when it comes to claims services.

For its report, “Property Claims Satisfaction Study,” J.D. Power researched the filed property claims of 2,842 insurance customers nationally from November 2009 to April 2011, which indirectly provided an evaluation of the services provided to the claimants of 13 insurers.

The study evaluated claimants’ survey responses concerning the claims process: settlement, first notice of loss, appraisal, service interaction and repair process.

By also taking into account “subjective impressions,” such as courtesy, convenience and knowledge, and “objective metrics” such as time, frequency and cost, the comprehensive study concluded that fundamental communication is the most important factor in keeping claimants satisfied.

Simplification of the process heads the list of recommendations: keeping the number of representatives the claimant speaks with as low as possible was a significant indicator, while relaying thorough explanations and time-tables were also cited as greatly improving claimant satisfaction.

Positive or negative claims experiences strongly influence a customer’s willingness to stay with an insurer. More than three-fourths of claimants with high satisfaction scores said they would recommend as well as renew their insurer, while just 14 percent of claimants with low satisfaction would renew their insurer and only 8 percent would recommend them.

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