“Home insurers have spent a great deal of time and money refining their claims processing capabilities through a combination of improved client relationship management, enhanced technology and improved quality control,” said David Pieffer, property & casualty lead for insurance intelligence at J.D. Power. “Getting this formula right is critical for insurers because any customer perception of undue effort or unnecessary delays experienced on the part of the customer in the claims process is directly correlated with increased shopping for a new insurer.”
Following are some key findings of the 2020 study:
Property claims satisfaction reaches record high, topping other service industries: Overall customer satisfaction with homeowners insurance property claims is 881 (on a 1,000-point scale), a significant increase from last year and a record high for the study. This score also represents the highest overall customer satisfaction level among all current J.D. Power consumer-based service studies in the United States and Canada, including auto claims (868); mail order pharmacy (867); and direct banking (860).
Premium increases and cumbersome claims processes spur attrition: Two of the factors most likely to drive homeowners insurance customers to shop their policies with other carriers are claim-related premium increases and the necessity of exerting a high level of effort to get the claim resolved. When homeowners insurers miss the mark on these two factors, overall satisfaction decreases by 85 points and customers become 13.5 times more likely to shop for a new policy.
Technology helps, but claimants not ready for fully digital claims: Digital solutions for first notice of loss (FNOL) and estimation, along with self-service account management tools are having a positive effect on convenience and speed of the claims process, but few claimants say they are ready for fully digital claims. More than one-fourth (27%) of customers still prefer the entire claims process to be handled offline and just 4% say they would prefer a digital-only claims experience.
Study Rankings
Amica Mutual ranks highest in property insurance claims experience for a ninth consecutive year, achieving a score of 902. The Hartford ranks second with a score of 896, followed by Farmers with a score of 893.
The U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study measures satisfaction with the property claims experience among insurance customers who have filed a claim for damages by examining five factors (listed in order of importance): settlement; claim servicing; FNOL; estimation process; and repair process. The 2020 study is based on responses from 6,025 homeowners insurance customers and was fielded between April and December 2019.
For more information about the U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/resource/us-property-claims-satisfaction-study