The firm’s 2017 U.S. Auto Insurance Study revealed that more than 1 in 4 drivers is paying more.
J.D. Power released its 2017 U.S. Auto Insurance Study showing that auto insurance rates are headed skyward for a quarter of Americans this year. This came with the not-too-surprising news that drivers are less satisfied with their car insurance companies than they were previously.
The car insurance rates are having a direct impact on how satisfied Americans are with their insurers.
The J.D. Power study this year found that 26 percent of drivers will see higher auto insurance rates this year. According to the firm, the drivers are paying higher premiums as a result of: an increased frequency of accidents, more severe crashes, motorists are driving more miles than ever before, and weather is more extreme than it used to be.
Along with the rise in prices has come a decline in customer satisfaction. This year, auto insurance policyholders responded to the rate hikes with a reduction in the satisfaction they feel toward their insurers pricing strategies.
At the same time, despite the auto insurance rates climbing consumers are more satisfied overall with coverage.
Among the key findings of the J.D. Power car insurance study are:
• Despite having to pay more, consumers are satisfied with their insurers overall. Their satisfaction with their insurance companies overall has risen to historic highs at 819 points out of a possible 1,000.
• Declines in policyholder satisfaction are directly connected to the price increases. The research found there was more than a doubling of the number of customers whose rates increased by $200 or more. Among them, their satisfaction scores were only 538 out of a possible 1,000 points. Among the drivers whose rate increases were $25 or less, their average satisfaction score was 726. This represents a 188 point difference based on price alone. Clearly price has a sizeable impact on overall satisfaction with an insurer.
• Customers who felt their insurance companies communicated price increases in advance and offered information educate policyholders about their coverage were more satisfied than those whose companies didn’t. The average satisfaction score among customers whose auto insurance rates increased was 645. However, customers notified and informed by their insurers had a satisfaction score of 755.
