State Farm, Chubb, Nationwide rank highest in customer satisfaction: J.D. Power

The J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study reports that overall small business insurance customer satisfaction has increased 13 points to a total of 842, just two points lower than the overall pre-pandemic all-time high. The study, set on a 1,000-point scale, offers insights into industry trends and consumer sentiments for small commercial insurance businesses. 

"Customer satisfaction among small businesses has increased this year in all areas we measure despite a near-record level of rate increases across the ten years we have conducted this research," explains Stephen Crewdson, senior director of global insurance intelligence at J.D. Power.

According to the study, satisfaction with customers' insurance premiums climbed up three points in 2022, even though 30% of small businesses experienced an increase in their policy prices. The insurance study suggests that the increase in consumer satisfaction, despite the increase in prices, is likely a result of proactive, transparent communication between insurers and their clients. Open communication and clarification are key to maintaining a high-level of customer satisfaction; the study reports that consumers who receive a notice in advance of premium increases, and can discuss reasons or mitigation strategies for premium increases, are just as satisfied as those who did not receive a premium increase at all. Digital accessibility and opportunity may be key to this open-ended communication, according to Crewdson. 

The study "shows small business insureds are turning to digital channels to interact with their insurers more than in the past – especially among the largest of the small businesses, where appetite for digital interaction is the strongest," says Crewdson. "Digital-ready customers, those who choose to quote their small business insurance through digital channels, are finding they need to put more effort into obtaining a quote than their offline counterparts – reporting almost 30% more effort than those quoting through agents. The industry has a great opportunity to improve digital channels as 41% of insureds are 'digital-ready' this year. Digital-ready customers are not going back to the fax machine…if they have even seen one before."

At the start of the pandemic in early 2020, customer satisfaction declined severely. Relationships between commercial line insurers and their small business customers were not immune to the financial disruption and uncertainty brought about by COVID-19, and for the first time in several years, customer satisfaction decreased as a result of this strain. Scores increased steadily from 2013 until 2020, with 2019 as the year with the highest total of 844 points. 

Ranking at the highest in overall customer satisfaction is State Farm with a score of 856, Chubb in second place with a total of 855, and Nationwide in third place with 854 points. The study received responses from 2,254 small commercial insurance customers and analyzed overall customer satisfaction in policy offerings, prices, billing, claims, and interactions. The 2022 findings indicate an overall increase in all categories of the customer satisfaction study, with the greatest increases seen in interaction, billing, and policy offerings, respectively.