A new study by J.D. Power & Associates shows that consumers with insurance on their homes have more complaints regarding the working in comparison to the vehicle insurance customers.
The home insurance owners have a low satisfaction rate to their appeals whereas the auto insurance consumers have showed their enthusiasm with the experience.
J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Auto Claims Satisfaction Study shows that based on a survey, on a scale of 1000, auto insurance scored 842 for its working satisfaction rate and the home insurance scored 828 on the scale.
“Home claims are typically far more complex than auto claims, and homeowners insurance claimants tend to have less knowledge of the specifics of their policy coverage than do auto claimants,. Although satisfying home claimants is particularly challenging, it’s still crucial for insurance providers to meet the needs of these customers, given the significant impact the experience has on long-term policy retention.” J.D. Power and Associates senior director Jeremy Bowler said.
This study shows that consumers who have a higher satisfaction rate tend to renew their policy with the company. 66% of people are willing to renew their policy. With policies like the home insurance where the customer receives low satisfaction from the experience only 49% of consumers said they will renew their policy. Auto insurance consumers were more willing to recommend a friend to the insurer in comparison to the home insurance customers.
“While only about 6 percent of homeowners insurance customers per year file a home claim, for those who do, no other aspect of the experience with their insurer is more meaningful. An experience that meets or exceeds customer expectations may foster long-term loyalty, just as a negative experience may drive a customer to shop other insurance companies.” Bowler said.
Customers in home insurance policies said that the staff did not adequately explain the process of the working of the transaction of and they were unaware of the coverage their policy possessed. Auto insurance consumers were more satisfied with the experience with the staff.
The consumers are sometimes unaware of the policy coverage and usually opt for a settlement claim on their insurance. Only 11% of auto insurance consumers complained about this issue in comparison to 22% by home insurance owners.
“The negotiation process tends to be difficult and stressful and often leads most customers to become dissatisfied with their claims experience. On average, satisfaction among home claimants who negotiate their settlement is 117 points lower than among those who didn’t negotiate. By thoroughly explaining the limitations of the policy coverage and fully managing customer expectations, insurance companies may be able to lower the number of negotiations and improve claimant satisfaction considerably” said Bowler.
These factors influence the 2009 Home Claims Satisfaction Study’s statistics. More than 2500 consumers in 11 companies filled in the survey for the study.
