Homeowners’ insurance customer satisfaction has hit record-breaking levels, a new survey by J.D. Power has found.
This year’s scores are the highest J.D. Power has seen in the history of its “US Home Insurance Study” series. On a 1,000-point scale, this year’s study posted an all-time high of 818 among homeowners (+10 from 2017) and 839 among renters (+5 from 2017).
“Despite experiencing record property losses due to severe hurricanes, floods and fires, home insurers have managed to win the hearts and minds of their customers through superior service and access to information,” commented J.D. Power North American insurance practice business consultant Robert Lajdziak.
The market research firm found that this increase was driven by “an increase in the proportion of customers who bundle policies and improvements in digital interaction channels.”
“. . . Insurers should note that the preference for digital channel interaction has notably increased for several years, across all types of interactions and all generations of customers. That evolving consumer preference could provide an opening for digital-native insurtech companies,” Lajdziak added.
J.D. Power found that preference for using digital channels for interaction with insurers has significantly increased since last year. These interactions include payment verification and billing inquiries to policy renewals and price quotes. Notably, the firm found that while the increased digital preference is evident in all generational groups of home insurance customers, Gen Y and Gen Z were the groups that most preferred the accessibility.
Policy bundling has also become a very popular trend that has caught on with consumers, the study found. Customers with multiple policies with a single home insurer reported higher satisfaction and are likely to advocate on behalf of their carrier, J.D. Power revealed. The firm also found that overall satisfaction among customers with six or more bundled policies averaged 863 – 111 points higher than among those with just one home insurance product.
