Small businesses may start shopping for new insurance, according to the
Competitive pricing is central to customers choosing to stay with an insurer. However, good service is also an indicator for retention as 16% of respondents said good service was the most common driver of retention.
Stephen Crewdson, managing director of global insurance intelligence at J.D. Power, told Digital Insurance in a statement:
"Overall, the steep drop in small business' intent to renew with their commercial insurer was surprising after three consecutive years of increasing intent to renew. Underneath that, we see that the extent to which insurers and/or agents understand the industry and specifics of the business for commercial accounts is a substantial driver of satisfaction. Surprisingly, it is more important for the insurer to understand the company and their industry than for the agent. The agent is local to the community and has a better vantage point of the specifics of the business, but small commercial clients are much more satisfied when it is the insurer who understands their business and industry."
The study is based on responses from 2,848 small commercial insurance customers, fielded from March through May 2025.
"Small businesses are interacting with their insurer as often through websites, 54%, as with agents, 54%," Crewdson shared. " Insurers need to remain focused on containment within digital channels as satisfaction is 127 points higher (on a 1,000 point scale) when issues brought to a website are completely resolved via the website compared to having to cross channels for a resolution."
Erie Insurance ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction with 723. Cincinnati Insurance and Philadelphia Insurance ranked second with 714.
