Newswires

March 28, 2019 Newswires

Canada’s Home Insurers Miss the Mark When Addressing Top Customer Issues, J.D. Power Finds

Business Wire

The Co-operators (Atlantic/Ontario), The Personal (Quebec) and BCAA (Western Canada) Rank Highest in Customer Satisfaction

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- When it comes to addressing insurance pain points of homeowners in Canada, insurance companies are falling short in meeting their expectations, according to the J.D. Power 2019 Canada Home Insurance Satisfaction Study,^SM released today. In fact, all seven of the most important attributes that affect customer satisfaction receive lower average scores than those in less-influential areas of customer interaction.

“Insurers who want to increase market share as well as attract and retain customers need to shift focus and improve in areas that most influence customer satisfaction,” said Tom Super, Director of the Insurance Practice at J.D. Power. “Highly satisfied customers have better policy lifetime expectancy (PLE) scores and are much more likely to recommend their insurer to friends or family.”

Additionally, the study finds that more than 50% of customers indicate their insurer failed to deliver on key performance indicators (KPIs) that they rate as most important related to price, policy and service.

Following are some key findings of the 2019 study:

Improvement in customer satisfaction tied to market share gains: Carrier improvements in customer satisfaction initiatives to better meet customer expectations correlate to more favorable top-line results, such as market share improvements by a number of insurers, year over year.
Delighted for the long run: Delighted customers (measured as satisfaction scores of 900 and above, on a 1,000-point scale), tend to stay with the same home insurer an average of nearly 13 years. These customers are more likely to act as a brand ambassador and recommend their insurer to family and friends.
Product improvement presents opportunity: Improvements in product offerings, such as more competitive discounts and more flexible underwriting standards, are areas in which insurers can differentiate themselves and thus improve customer satisfaction. Specifically, satisfaction is higher when customers receive lesser-known discounts for online purchase, association memberships and automatic or full-policy payments than when they receive more common discounts for claim-free records, security systems and fire alarms.
Digital divide: The largest gap in satisfaction scores between the highest- and lowest-performing insurers is for digital capabilities. The study’s highest-ranked insurer scores 850 for providing digital capabilities for insureds, while the bottom performer scores just 670. This indicates that a large divide exists between insurers that meet their customers’ digital expectations and those that do not.

Nationwide, the median homeowners’ insurance premium during the past year was $1,200. On a regional basis, insureds in the Atlantic/Ontario region paid the highest for homeowners’ insurance coverage ($1,260), followed by the Western ($1,248) and Quebec ($984) regions.

Study Rankings

The Co-operators ranks highest in overall satisfaction in the Atlantic/Ontario region with a score of 791. RBC Insurance (774) ranks second and Allstate (764) ranks third.

In the Quebec region, The Personal ranks highest with a score of 830. Industrial Alliance (824) ranks second, while belairdirect and La Capitale rank third in a tie with 809.

In the Western region, BCAA ranks highest with a score of 800. The Co-operators (779) ranks second and TD Insurance (749) ranks third.

Quebecers are the most satisfied with their homeowners’ insurers, with a region average of 800 points, while their neighbours in the Western region are the least satisfied, with an average score of 740. The Western region also has the lowest score for competitiveness of discounts offered.

The 2019 Canada Home Insurance Satisfaction Study measures customer satisfaction with their homeowners’ insurance company by examining five factors (in order of importance): product/policy offerings; price; billing and payment; interaction (non-claim); and claims. The interaction (non-claim) factor includes three sub-factors: local agent and/or broker; call centre representative; and assisted online.

The 2019 study is based on responses from 5,809 homeowner insurance customers across Canada and was fielded from November 2018 through January 2019.

For more information about the Canada Home Insurance Satisfaction Study, visit

https://canada.jdpower.com/resource/canadian-home-insurance-study.

See the online press release at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2019052.

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. These capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. Established in 1968, J.D. Power has offices serving North America, South America, Asia Pacific and Europe.

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

NOTE: Three charts follow.

Study Rankings

Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking

(Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Atlantic/Ontario Region

The Co-operators 791

RBC Insurance 774

Allstate 764

The Personal 762

belairdirect 761

Economical Insurance 761

Johnson Insurance 756

Intact Insurance 753

Atlantic/ON Region Average 753

TD Insurance 749

Travelers 746

Wawanesa 738

Desjardins General Insurance 735

Aviva Insurance 727

Note: Included in the study but not ranked due to sample size is Chubb.

Quebec Region

The Personal 830

Industrial Alliance 824

belairdirect 809

La Capitale 809

Quebec Region Average 800

Promutuel 799

Desjardins General Insurance 796

Intact Insurance 792

TD Insurance 786

Aviva Insurance 755

Western Region

BCAA 800

The Co-operators 779

TD Insurance 749

SGI Canada 742

Western Region Average 740

Intact Insurance 736

Wawanesa 734

Aviva Insurance 721

Note: Included in the study but not ranked due to sample size are Alberta Motor Association, CNS Insurance, Economical Insurance, Johnson Insurance, Peach Hills General Insurance and Travelers.

Charts and graphs extracted from this press release for use the by the media must be accompanied by a statement identifying J.D. Power as the publisher and the study from which it originated as the source. Rankings are based on numerical scores, and not necessarily on statistical significance. No advertising or other promotional use cab be made of the information in this release or J.D. Power survey results without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power.