J.D. Power finds Western Canadians less satisfied with home insurance
June 6, 2016 by Staff
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A new J.D. Power report says severe weather events are making Western Canadian homeowners more dissatisfied with their insurance companies.
The annual survey asked 7,438 customers how they feel about their insurers based on five areas: non-claim interactions, policy offerings, price, billing and payment, and claims. Price was the leading the cause of dissatisfaction in Western Canada.
It’s no surprise that insurers in Western provinces have been challenged with significant losses after a number of weather events. Even though–at the time of the survey–fire-related claims had dropped to five percent since 2013, storm-related claims increased by seven percent. For example, a storm that hit Alberta and Saskatchewan in 2015 costing $56 million in insured losses is still affecting insurers.
“The Western provinces have had some very severe events in recent years, like the current Fort McMurray wildfire, which have caused significant financial losses for insurers.” said J.D. Power’s Director of Insurance Valerie Monet. The data suggests insurers haven’t been able to focus on improving customer experience because of the “upheaval these claims events have had on their business.”
On the bright side, the report emphasizes satisfaction improvement in Eastern Canada. Customers were the most loyal in Quebec with 37 percent saying they “definitely will” renew with their current provider.
The survey found that belairdirect had the highest satisfaction rate with a score of 799 out of 1,000 in the Atlantic/Ontario region and 814 in Quebec. BCAA ranked highest in Western Canada with a score of 792.
Runners up in the Atlantic/Ontario region were The Co-operators (796) and Intact Insurance (791). In Quebec, they were Promutuel (809) and Desjardins General Insurance, Intact Insurance and La Capitale (806 each). In Western Canada, Alberta Motor Association (774) and The Co-operators came in second and third (773).
This story was originally published by Canadian Insurance Top Broker.