J.D. Power and Associates releases results of its insurance consumer satisfaction survey

State Farm scored highest in customer satisfaction among private full-coverage automotive service providers that were ranked in an inaugural customer satisfaction survey conducted by J.D. Power and Associates.
Runners-up for customer service in private auto insurance included belairdirect and Johnson Insurance.
J.D. Power and Associates’ 2008 Canadian Home and Auto Insurance Customer Satisfaction Study measured auto and home insurance policyholder experiences with their primary insurers based on five different categories:
Customer service
Price/premium
Policy offerings
Billing/payment
Claims
In auto insurance, State Farm scored a 757 on a 1,000-point scale, scoring particularly well in the categories of customer service and billing/payment.
Among home insurance providers, BCAA (812) ranked highest in the customer satisfaction survey, based on its scores in the customer service, price/premium, policy offerings and billing/payment categories.
SSQ General (787) and belairdirect (777) followed BCAA in the home insurance rankings.
The study is based on responses from 8,965 auto insurance policyholders and 5,687 home insurance policyholders. It was fielded through a nationally representative online survey conducted in August 2008.
J.D. Power and Associates found that customer service accounted for 38% of satisfaction among home insurance policyholders, while premium/pricing only accounted for 17%.
Even in the auto insurance field, in which pricing sensitivity is important, customer service made up a higher percentage (28%) of customer satisfaction than did other categories.
“Property and casualty insurance has long been considered a commodity business, with most policies written through independent brokers and with heavy government regulation in auto insurance rates and coverage,” Lubo Li, senior director of Canadian financial services and insurance at J.D. Power and Associates, said in a press release.
But “insurance is a service industry, and policyholders expect their insurers to deliver a superior experience particularly through proactive communication, including regular reviews of auto and home insurance needs and providing appropriate recommendations.
“Insurers who meet and exceed the expectations of their policyholders will be rewarded with higher customer satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy.”