When it comes to insurance, customer service matters

Happy November!

Fall is a great time to review your insurance policies and make any necessary changes. And, when it comes to making changes or asking questions regarding your policy, nothing beats one-on-one human interaction.

Customer service is key when it comes to insurance. Nowadays, there are lots of options for purchasing insurance online; but, as a recent J.D. Power Studies U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study reports, customers are happier and more satisfied when able to deal directly with their representative. Their findings?

• 8 out of 10 customers who purchased their auto insurance policy through a local agent still call their agent first to report or seek advice regarding a claim and customers whose agents file their claim are happier with their service than those who use a call center.
• Among customers who call their agent first, 64 percent say their agent reported their claim, while 20 percent are transferred by their agent to a call center and 16 percent are otherwise redirected.
• Overall customer satisfaction (on a 1,000-point scale) is 882 when the agent files the claim, but slips to 858 when the customer is transferred to a call center and falls even further to 824 when they are instructed to contact the call center.
• The study finds that overall satisfaction is highest among customers who first contact their agent when filing a claim at 882, compared with 848 among those who file a claim directly through the website. In fact, only 7 percent of customers overall prefer to use digital channels (web or app) to report their claim.