J.D. Power has once again measured Canadians’ satisfaction with auto insurance providers, and its outcome isn't promising.
Despite growing contentment with regard to pricing, driven largely by Ontario’s drop in auto insurance rates, Canadians are by and large dismayed by their auto carriers.
“If we take a look at the study nationally, we saw satisfaction decline eight index points from 758 in 2015 to 750 in 2015,” said Valerie Monet, director of insurance practice at J.D. Power. “So price is the only factor where customer satisfaction increased, but when we take a look at all the other major touch points that the customer has with their insurer, the non-claim interactions with an agent, broker, call center or website, these are down 15 index points year over year.”
One reader isn't surprised by these findings, arguing that some of Canada's larger insurance carriers have made business, "all about quantity over quality."
Fortunately for the industry, many issues at the heart of Canadians' displeasure can be resolved by agents and brokers.
“One of the best service practices that I’ve come across is making sure customers completely understand billing statements,” Monet said. “On average, only 65% of customers say they understand billing statements. So helping customers to understand what’s on their billing statement, when their billing period is, how to make a payment and any other helpful information would go a long way to improve customer satisfaction.”
In addition, consumers appreciate the opportunity to partake in a telematics program.
J.D. Power discovered that when insurers offered a UBI program, customer satisfaction increases from an index score 750 to 767, and for customers who actively engaged with it, that number rose to 790.
