The 2011 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study performed by J.D. Power and Associates has shown that insurance customers who make claims for a total vehicle loss are significantly less likely to be satisfied with the experience provided by their insurer than those who make claims for a vehicle that can be repaired.
On a scale of 1,000 points, satisfaction received an average rating of 811 among customers who made a claim on a total loss, which was 42 points lower than the average rating among customers who had a repairable vehicle.
The discrepancy in satisfaction between those two groups is greatly a result of a lack of satisfaction with the total loss claim settlement, as nearly fifty percent of these customers state that the settlement with which they were provided was not adequate to replace the vehicle that they had lost with another vehicle of a similar make and model.
According to the senior director of the J.D. Power and Associates insurance practice, Jeremy Bowler, the vehicle claims that brought about a total loss were usually involved in situations with greater complexity when compared to the claims involving repairs, “because in addition to filing a claim, claimants also have to purchase a replacement vehicle.”
He explained that it is vital to maintain ongoing management of expectations and communications throughout the full length of the claims process, as the claims for total losses take an average of 18.2 days for the policyholder to obtain a payment, in contrast to the 12.5 days it takes for policyholders to receive a payment for a repair of the vehicle.
