Auto Insurance Satisfaction Reaches All-Time High

PR Newswire Association LLC

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., June 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite steady increases in premium prices during the past five years, auto owners' satisfaction with auto insurers reaches record-high levels, according to the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Auto Insurance Study^SM released today.

The study measures customer satisfaction across five factors: interaction; price; policy offerings; billing and payment; and claims.

Overall satisfaction with auto insurance companies increases by a significant 16 points (on a 1,000-point scale) to 810 in 2014, the highest since the study launched in 2000. The satisfaction milestone comes at a time when premiums have been trending up for the past few years. While the percent of customers experiencing an insurer-initiated premium increase is about even to last year, 19 percent vs. 20 percent in 2013, among those who experienced a rate hike, the average increase is much lower than last year, $86 in 2014, compared with $153 in 2013.

"A premium increase often triggers shopping behavior, but we're seeing fewer people shopping," said Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power. "This indicates that insurers are more effectively communicating with their customers, making them aware of the premium increases when they occur and why they're necessary, and demonstrating the value of their coverage."

Findings of the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study,^SM released in April 2014, show that 13 percent of customers who experience an increase in their premiums shop for a new provider.

The auto insurance customer experience improves significantly across all factors in 2014, with the largest year-over-year increases in price (+20 points) and billing and payment (+19). Interaction, the factor with the largest impact on overall satisfaction, improves by 13 points.

The increase in price satisfaction is attributed to a rise in the percentage of customers whose premiums have remained the same during the past 12 months, compared with 2013 (55% vs. 52%, respectively), and a slight decline in the proportion of those with insurer-initiated increases.

In addition to smaller increases this year, insurers have more often notified customers of the rise in premiums through their preferred communication channel (57% in 2014 vs. 53% in 2013).

KEY FINDINGS

Customer loyalty and advocacy are improving. More than half (51%) of customers say they "definitely will" renew their auto insurance policy with their current provider, up from 49 percent in 2013. Additionally, 49 percent of customers say they "definitely will" recommend their insurer to family and friends in 2014, an increase from 48 percent in 2013.
When analyzing insurance customers by attitudinal and preference-based segmentation, overall satisfaction is highest among Loyal Advice Seekers (867)—customers who are the least likely to both shop and switch carriers due to a strong relationship with their agent. Satisfaction is lowest among Unengaged customers (742)—those who have little, if any, relationship with their insurer.
Among Technologists—customers who prefer to interact through technology—more than 60 percent have interacted with their insurer in the past 12 months through digital channels, such as their carrier's website and social media, and 40 percent have communicated exclusively via digital.
Most of the improvement this year at the insurer level comes from the smaller insurers in the industry. In aggregate, the 20 largest insurers, based on the amount of written premiums, improve by 10 points in 2014, compared with 2013, while the smallest insurers, those outside of the largest 30, improve by 41 points.

Regional Overview
Satisfaction varies regionally from a high of 820 in the Texas and Central regions to a low of 795 in the California and New England regions. Ten of the 11 study regions post significant double-digit increases in insurer performance in 2014, with the largest improvements in the New York (+29 points) and New England (+26) regions.

California: Wawanesa (852) ranks highest in the California region. Ameriprise ranks second at 824 and Auto Club of Southern California Insurance Group ranks third at 822.

Central:Auto-Owners Insurance (853) ranks highest in the Central region, followed by Shelter (844) and State Farm (830).

Florida: The Hartford (827) ranks highest in the Florida region. Auto-Owners Insurance (815) and Progressive (811) follow The Hartford in the rankings.

Mid-Atlantic: The Hartford (833) ranks highest in the Mid-Atlantic region. Erie Insurance (830) ranks second, and GEICO and State Farm rank third in a tie (809 each).

New England: Amica Mutual (868) ranks highest in the New England region. State Farm (833) ranks second and Nationwide (814) third.

New York:GEICO and State Farm rank highest in the New York region in a tie (822 each). New York Central Mutual (811) ranks third.

North Central:Auto-Owners Insurance (840) ranks highest in the North Central region. State Farm (829) ranks second and Grange Insurance (826) third.

Northwest: PEMCO Insurance (854) ranks highest in the Northwest region, followed by The Hartford (834) and State Farm (829).

Southeast:Tennessee Farm Bureau (844) ranks highest in the Southeast region. North Carolina Farm Bureau (843) ranks second and Auto-Owners Insurance (839) third.

Southwest:State Farm (836) ranks highest in the Southwest region. Liberty Mutual and The Hartford rank second in a tie (820 each).

Texas:Texas Farm Bureau Insurance (852) ranks highest in the Texas region. Allstate (830) ranks second and State Farm (826) third.

New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company (NJM) and USAA also achieve high levels of customer satisfaction in the study, although they are not included in the rankings due to the closed nature of their respective memberships.

The 2014 U.S. Auto Insurance Study is based on responses from 44,661 auto insurance customers. The survey data was collected in March and April 2014.

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Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Scores		J.D. Power.com Power Circle Ratings^TM
(Based on a 1,000-point scale)		For Consumers

California Region
Wawanesa	852	5
Ameriprise	824	4
Auto Club of Southern California Insurance Group	822	4
The Hartford	814	4
State Farm	813	4
GEICO	795	3
California Average	795	3
Allstate	791	3
Mercury	785	3
Liberty Mutual	782	3
Progressive	782	3
Safeco	777	2
Nationwide	776	2
CSAA Insurance Group	774	2
Farmers	772	2
21st Century </span>	771	2
Travelers	765	2
*USAA	917

*USAA is an insurance provider open only to U.S. military personnel and their families and therefore is not included in the rankings. Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are Esurance, Infinity P&C and Kemper.

Central Region
Auto-Owners Insurance	853	5
Shelter	844	4
State Farm	830	4
GEICO	829	4
Central Average	820	3
Farm Bureau Mutual	819	3
American Family	818	3
Safeco	817	3
The Hartford	814	3
Allstate	810	3
Travelers	801	2
Liberty Mutual	800	2
Auto Club of Southern California Insurance Group	798	2
Farmers	796	2
Nationwide	789	2
Progressive	788	2
*USAA	908

*USAA is an insurance provider open only to U.S. military personnel and their families and therefore is not included in the rankings. Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size is Automobile Club Group.

Florida Region
The Hartford	827	5
Auto-Owners Insurance	815	4
Progressive	811	3
MetLife	810	3
Allstate	807	3
State Farm	805	3
Florida Average	805	3
GEICO	804	3
Liberty Mutual	794	3
Travelers	787	2
Esurance	785	2
Safeco	780	2
Nationwide	772	2
21st Century	762	2
*USAA	902

*USAA is an insurance provider open only to U.S. military personnel and their families and therefore is not included in the rankings. Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are Amica Mutual, Direct General, Farmers, Infinity P&C and Mercury.

Mid-Atlantic Region
The Hartford	833	5
Erie Insurance	830	5
GEICO	809	3
State Farm	809	3
Mid-Atlantic Average	806	3
Allstate	797	3
Nationwide	795	2
Progressive	789	2
Travelers	788	2
21st Century	784	2
Plymouth Rock Assurance	781	2
Liberty Mutual	779	2
*USAA	893
**NJM Insurance Co.	866

USAA is an insurance provider open only to U.S. military personnel and their families and therefore is not included in the rankings. *NJM Insurance Co. is an insurance provider open only to New Jersey Business & Industry Association members, State of New Jersey employees, NJM's previously insured drivers, and/or previous/current auto/homeowner policyholders, and therefore is not included in the rankings. Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are Amica Mutual, CSAA Insurance Group, Esurance and MetLife.

New England Region
Amica Mutual	868	5
State Farm	833	4
Nationwide	814	4
The Hartford	802	3
New England Average	795	3
Allstate	792	3
Progressive	791	3
GEICO	787	3
Liberty Mutual	785	3
Plymouth Rock Assurance	785	3
MAPFRE-Commerce Insurance	781	3
Arbella	776	3
Travelers	773	2
Safety Insurance	772	2
MetLife	767	2
<p class="prnews_p"> The Hanover	760	2
*USAA	905

*USAA is an insurance provider open only to U.S. military personnel and their families and therefore is not included in the rankings.

New York Region
GEICO	822	5
State Farm	822	5
New York Central Mutual	811	4
The Hartford	810	4
New York Average	805	3
Liberty Mutual	800	3
Allstate	794	2
MetLife	794	2
Nationwide	794	2
Travelers	794	2
Progressive	773	2
*USAA	901

*USAA is an insurance provider open only to U.S. military personnel and their families and therefore is not included in the rankings. Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are Amica Mutual, Erie Insurance and Kemper.

North Central Region
Auto-Owners Insurance	840	5
State Farm	829	4
Grange Insurance	826	4
Erie Insurance	825	4
COUNTRY	824	4
The Hartford	818	3
North Central Average	816	3
American Family	809	3
GEICO	809	3
Michigan Farm Bureau	809	3
Nationwide	809	3
Progressive	808	3
Liberty Mutual	807	3
Allstate	2
Farmers	794	2
Automobile Club Group	790	2
The Hanover	788	2
MetLife	761	2
*USAA	899

*USAA is an insurance provider open only to U.S. military personnel and their families and therefore is not included in the rankings. Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are Esurance and Indiana Farm Bureau.

Northwest Region
PEMCO Insurance	854	5
The Hartford	834	4
State Farm	829	4
Mutual of Enumclaw	828	4
American Family	818	3
Northwest Average	812	3
Safeco	808	3
GEICO	802	3
Nationwide	798	2
Farmers	797	2
Progressive	794	2
Allstate	789	2
Liberty Mutual	784	2
*USAA	906

*USAA is an insurance provider open only to U.S. military personnel and their families and therefore is not included in the rankings. Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are COUNTRY and Kemper.

Southeast Region
Tennessee Farm Bureau	844	5
North Carolina Farm Bureau	843	5
Auto-Owners Insurance	839	4
Alfa Insurance	832	4
Kentucky Farm Bureau	824	4
GEICO	820	3
Liberty Mutual	819	3
State Farm	3
Progressive	817	3
Southeast Average	816	3
Safeco	805	2
Travelers	805	2
Nationwide	798	2
Allstate	794	2
*USAA	925

*USAA is an insurance provider open only to U.S. military personnel and their families and therefore is not included in the rankings. Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are Amica Mutual, COUNTRY, The Hartford, Erie Insurance, Esurance, Farmers, Kemper, MetLife, National General and Shelter.

Southwest Region
State Farm	836	5
Liberty Mutual	820	3
The Hartford	820	3
Southwest Average	817	3
GEICO	816	3
American Family	809	3
Farmers	805	2
Allstate	801	2
Progressive	798	2
CSAA Insurance Group	790	2
Safeco	790	2
*USAA	908

*USAA is an insurance provider open only to U.S. military personnel and their families and therefore is not included in the rankings. Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are Auto-Owners Insurance and Nationwide.

Texas Region
Texas Farm Bureau Insurance	852	5
Allstate	830	4
State Farm	826	3
Texas Average	820	3
GEICO	815	3
Progressive	813	3
Farmers	803	2
Nationwide	798	2
Liberty Mutual	785	2
*USAA	907

*USAA is an insurance provider open only to U.S. military personnel and their families and therefore is not included in the rankings. Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are Amica Mutual, Auto Club of Southern California Insurance Group and Kemper.

Media Relations Contacts Jeff Perlman; Brandware Public Relations; Woodland Hills, Calif.; 818-317-3070; [email protected] John Tews; J.D. Power; Troy, Mich.; 248-680-6218; [email protected]

About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules www.jdpower.com/about-us/press-release-info
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SOURCE J.D. Power

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