Claimants Who Receive Highly Satisfying Service Coming Back

Information from the recently released J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Home Claims Satisfaction Study shows that claimants of insurers that give consumers highly satisfying property claims experiences are much more apt to renew with their insurer and recommend their insurer to others.

When looking at home insurers that offer highly satisfying claims experiences (satisfaction scores of 840 or greater on a 1,000-point scale), 71 percent of their claimants report that they "definitely will' renew with their insurance company and only 4 percent indicate they have switched insurers since experiencing their homeowners claim. Similarly, nearly 70 percent of these claimants indicate they "definitely will' refer their insurance company to others.

In reviewing more of the numbers, when looking at insurers sporting lower levels of satisfaction, just 53 percent of claimants indicate they plan to renew, while 10 percent stated they have chosen a different insurer. Less than one-half (48 percent) of these claimants indicate they "definitely will' recommend their present insurance company.

According to a spokesman from J.D. Power and Associates, "Suffering a property loss and filing a claim tends to be an emotionally charged experience - often more so than an auto claim. As a result, the property claim represents a moment of truth for insurance claimants regarding their insurers, so it's particularly important that the claims experience is handled in a satisfying manner to ensure claimants remain with the insurer in the long run.'

The study goes on to note that insurance companies performing major service practices - such as distinctly explaining the claims process, providing claimants with an expectation of how long the claim will take and ensuring consumers know how to get in touch with questions - may greatly improve satisfaction regarding the claims experience.

Regarding claimants who note that their insurance company delivered on all of the top service practices, satisfaction averages 929 points. On the flip side, satisfaction falls to 650 among claimants whose insurance companies missed four or more of the major service practices.

The study results also note the following important trends:

Insurance customers in rural areas more often indicate that their insurance company delivered on key performance indicators, compared with those in urban areas, despite oftentimes having fewer options during the repair process.

While claimants in the South tend to be just as happy with their insurance companies overall, on average, than those elsewhere in the United States, they tend to be much less satisfied with their property claims experiences.

Insurance claimants older than 54 note having obtained all of the top service practices more often than younger claimants —and are more satisfied overall.

Claimants —especially those under 35 years—gravitate towards electronic communications (online and e-mail) when obtaining updates regarding the claims process.