Property Claim Satisfaction Slips

Customer satisfaction among homeowners filing a property claim has slipped for the first time in five years, largely driven by declines in satisfaction with the total settlement and service interactions, according to the J.D. Power 2016 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study.

The study measures satisfaction with the property claims experience by examining five factors (in order of importance): settlement; first notice of loss; estimation process; service interaction; and repair process.

Satisfaction is calculated on a 1,000-point scale. According to the study, satisfaction fell 5 points to 846 from 2015. The largest changes are in the service interaction factor (-8 points), driven by declines in both the local agent (-8) and claims professional (-28) sub factors.

Weather events are drove declines in customer satisfaction this year. Survey results are impacted by how insurers handled a few major events. However, weather alone does not fully explain the dip in overall satisfaction. For instance, simple service practices such as returning promised callbacks are down 1 percentage point from last year, and only 42 percent of customers indicate that when contacting their insurer someone was “always available immediately” to assist them. Responsiveness, a primary driver of service interaction satisfaction, is down significantly year-over-year among claimants interacting with local insurance agents or claims professionals (-0.09 points and -0.43 points, respectively, on a 10-point scale).

Some of the key findings of the 2016 study:

Eighty-one percent of highly satisfied claimants (overall satisfaction scores of 900 or higher) say they “definitely will” renew their policy, and 81 percent say they “definitely will” recommend their current insurer, while only 14 percent of displeased claimants (scores of 549 or less) say they “definitely will” renew and 7 percent say they “definitely will” recommend. Just 13 percent of displeased claimants indicate they have switched insurers due to claims experience and 40 percent intend to shop within the next 12 months.

The desire for more help is strongest among the youngest groups, where 31 percent say they want help selecting a contractor.

Non-weather water claims are the most frequently reported claims in 2016. Satisfaction with the handling of non-weather-related water damage dropped 19-points to 835, while satisfaction with the handling of hail damage claims is highest at 858.

Additionally, satisfaction with theft claims is 840 (+20 points from 2015), while satisfaction with fire claims is 839 and with mold 834 (-27 points and -38 points, respectively).