The cost-of-living crisis has caused consumers to want their claims paid faster and to feel more in control during the claims process, according to the latest Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) Public Trust Index.
The index revealed that the speed of claims rose from the seventh-highest priority for consumers in July 2021 to the third-highest priority in July 2022. Control over the claims process has moved from ninth priority to the sixth-highest priority over the same period
CII’s Public Trust Index gathers insights quarterly from consumers and SMEs about their experience of buying, renewing and claiming on insurance products.
“We launched the Public Trust Index to help measure trust in the insurance profession, and our findings today reveal the desire for faster claims processes – for example – comes during times of stress and uncertainty,” said Matthew Connell, CII’s director of policy and public affairs. “The last time consumers felt this strongly was during lockdown in May 2020. Consumers do rate the value of the premiums they are paying as important, but quality of complaints handling, and the clarity on policy wording is rated higher.
“With the FCA’s measures on renewal premiums in place for less than a year, the Public Trust Index shows this is an area of greatest dissatisfaction,” he said. “It’s likely consumers feel that they should be rewarded for their loyalty, not penalised, and put at a financial disadvantage.”
