Customer satisfaction with claims is down: J.D. Power

An increase in severe storms and a larger number of high-severity claims is causing longer wait times, which is impacting customer satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study.

The study ranks Amica as highest in property insurance claims experience with a score of 906 on an 1,000-point-scale. AIG is second with 889. Erie Insurance is third at 888. 

Mark Garrett, director of claims intelligence at J.D. Power told Digital Insurance via email that customers have higher expectations with digital tools. 

"The challenge is customers using digital tools have a greater expectation for speed and efficiency in the claim, so when they need to repeat information or call for updates on what's going on, for example, this has a much larger negative impact on these customers," Garrett said. "We see that among customers who submit photos they are much more likely to need to call their insurer for a status update, which is a dissatisfier. Keeping customers informed of what's going on is challenging with longer claims so digital communications is an area where insurers can continue to improve."

Customers who use digital tools do have a faster claim cycle time but it doesn't always equal higher levels of satisfaction, according to the study. Claims that take longer than initially expected could be to blame. 

"A big issue in submitting photos is that often they are not used to create an estimate and the customer needs to arrange for an in-person inspection. Customers view that process as more complicated, longer than expected and causes unnecessary delays from their perspective, all dissatisfiers," Garrett said. 

Non-digital users typically have a repair cycle time of about 28 days, while those that use digital tools, on average, wait 15 days. However, those who say the process took as long as expected had an average repair time of 11 days.

"These types of digital solutions (claim reporting, photo submission, digital status updates) can absolutely help improve the cycle time and efficiency of a claim (both actual and perceived), so better incorporating these tools into the claim workflow and expectation management are key. Insurers need to focus on setting proper expectations of how the process will work and make sure they are getting the right content to customers at the right time and in the right channels," Garrett added. 

Many customers are also experiencing rising insurance premiums, which negatively impacts overall satisfaction. The study is based on responses from 6,019 homeowner insurance customers who filed a claim within the previous nine months.