J.D. Power’s has released its 2018 U.S. Auto Insurance Study, which finds that consumer satisfaction has reached a record high despite higher premiums.
The company states that the reason for this is that insurers are succeeding in getting the customer interaction formula right, offering a mix of digital and live interactions that keep customers engaged with their brands across all channels. The biggest gains in billing process and policy information (+11 points), policy offerings (+10), price (+6), and interaction (+3).
In particular, insurance companies are reportedly doing a great job of getting customers to use digital interaction channels for things like monthly billing, and saving live channel interaction for other tasks.
But increasing demand and use of digital self-service options is putting pressure on agents to advance the value they offer more products and services to help customers with complex needs and risks.
The release also notes the increase in usage-based insurance programs, which leverage telematics technology to set insurance premiums based on how far and how safely a customer drives, are gaining converts (up to 10 percent now, compared to 8 percent in 2017). Vehicle tracking and driver coaching are gaining importance among customers currently using such programs, in addition to more common reasons like getting a premium discount.
Companies were also ranked by region, with the highest ranking firms in the Southeast Region (defined as Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee) in the chart that accompanies this story.
The full release, with complete rankings charts for each region and quotes, can be found online at jdpower.com/press-releases/jd-power-2018-us-auto-insurance-study.
