J.D. Power and Associates study has shown that drivers are more satisfied with their policies.
The results of a J.D. Power and Associates survey have just been released, indicating that American drivers are feeling increasing satisfaction with their auto insurance, even following massive storms such as Isaac and Sandy.
In fact, the report showed that policyholder satisfaction rose by six points since 2011.
This is according to the first data that was released from the 2013 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, auto insurance customers are feeling a growing amount of satisfaction, and this is a continuing trend. The survey was conducted during December 2012, and it involved the participation of more than 3,000 people who have the coverage and who had settled a claim within the prior six months.
The auto insurance survey respondents were required to rate their insurer in several different categories.
Participants did not include policyholders who had filed only roadside assistance claims. It also did not include customers whose claims involved only windshield or glass damage. Also excluded were the people whose vehicles had been stolen outright, as the process for resolving a claim in those cases typically takes more time.
Though not every category applied in every case, the respondents were asked to score their auto insurance company on many different factors. They included “first notice of loss; claim service interaction; damage appraisal; repair process; rental experience; and settlement”. Each of those criteria were scored by respondents on a scale of 0 to 1,000.
What J.D. Power determined was that since 2011, the average overall satisfaction level increased to 861, which is six points higher. The report on the results links the higher overall satisfaction with improved settlement satisfaction. That is the area in which there was the most considerable growth, as drivers rated that category 11 points higher than they had in 2011.
Policyholders also rated their auto insurance settlements as being more fair, and that the timing it took to settle was improved. The shorter length of time that it took to settle claims is likely to have played a very high role in the happier customers, as the average from 2011 – 16.4 days – fell to 13.9 days in 2012.
