Customer expectation gap identified in insurance

Recent research has indicated there is a large gap between what customers expect from insurance and what they actually receive

Insurance News

By George Walmsley

While it’s difficult to get customers excited by insurance at the best of times, insurers are now contending with a widening gap between what customers expect and what they receive.

According to research conducted by Target Group, a financial services outsourcing and software business, 40% of people do not believe insurers treat customers well. This is coupled with the seemingly paradoxical finding that 69% of insurance customers said they are likely or very likely to recommend their current insurer to a friend or relative.

The findings were revealed in the whitepaper Myth v Reality: The Expectation Gap in the UK Insurance Industry. Target Group surveyed 1,000 UK insurance consumers as part of the research.
Bill Alley, Co-Group CEO of Target Group, said the gap between expectations and reality is a challenge for insurers.

“Our findings suggest that this could be down to a combination of residual impressions of the industry left by the financial crisis, negative personal experiences in the past and a lack of engagement by policyholders when it comes to finding out important information such as how to make a claim,” Alley said.

Other findings included 49% of insurance customers stating that finding the cheapest product on the market was either important or essential to them, and 39% identified value for money as being the most important. 20% of people also admitted they didn’t look for information such as how to make a claim when they purchased a policy.

The survey also found 73% of insurance purchases involved the use of a price comparison website.
“The question insurers need to address is how they turn initial goodwill from customers into mutually rewarding and long-term relationships,” said Alley.

“With the prevalence of price comparison sites reducing the direct interaction insurance brands have with their customers, it’s vital that omni-channel technology and practices are adopted to make the most of each touch point with the customer to leave them with a positive experience.”


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