Smart Auto Insurance Blog

According to the article “Auto Claims Customer Satisfaction Still High, But Dips From ‘09″ by NU Online News Service on Property-Casualty.com, overall auto insurance claims satisfaction dropped in 2010 because of a decrease in settlement satisfaction based on a study from JD Power & Associates.

JD Power & Associates released its 2010 US Auto Claims Satisfaction Study recently and it shows the number of consumers who filed claims considered their fair dropped in 2010 when compared with the 2009 results.  Satisfaction with claims service is still higher than it was in 2008 which is a good sign.  For the study, auto insurance companies were ranked based on consumer responses, on first notice of loss, service interaction, repair process, appraisal, settlement, rental experience and overall satisfaction.

The senior director of insurance practice at JD Power & Associates, Jeremy Bowler, says the industry experienced huge improvements in 2009 partly because of a 2 day reduction in overall repair time year over year which is a major feat.  In 2010 repair times increased slightly but overall satisfaction is still good.

Nationwide Auto Insurance ranked well in JD Power’s recent report ranking various auto insurance companies across the nation.  The 2009 National Auto Insurance Study awarded Amica Mutual as the highest ranked, but it’s important to know how well your specific carrier ranked.

Nationwide received an average ranking in all categories except pricing where it ranked slightly below average.  Pricing is very customer specific though so getting a quote is still very much worth your time.  In the other categories of overall satisfaction, contacting the insurer, policy offerings, and billing & payment they are considered average.

View more detailed reporting on JD Power’s website, but note that JD Power Consumer Center Ratings may not include all of the information used to figure JD Power and Associates Awards. Using this type of report can be extremely helpful as you get various quotes from auto insurance companies.

JD Power recently released Auto Insurance Provider Ratings report in the 2009 National Auto Insurance Study.  They ranked various auto insurance companies and State Farm Auto Insurance ranked very well.

In the category of overall satisfaction State Farm received the score of “better than most”.  This is based on how customers rate all aspects of their service experience with the insurer.  In the category of contacting the insurance company State Farm received the ranking of “among the best”.  This is great to know when shopping around since you need your insurance company the most during stressful times and you do not want to worry about not being able to get in touch with them.

In the category of policy offerings State Farm ranked “better than most” and they received the same ranking in billing and payment.  Billing and payment scoring is based on how customers rate the clarity, timeliness, and accuracy of their bills as well as the overall payment process.  Using this type of report when you compare auto insurance quotes can be extremely useful to see who is coming out on top.  It can save you a lot of time to have all the information on one useful chart.  Visit JD Power’s site for more detailed information on the rankings.

The JD Power 2009 National Auto Insurance Study rankings are out and Amica Mutual stays strong as the award recipient.  The detailed rankings can be viewed on JD Power’s website.  USAA and the New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Co. both ranked very high as well but are not included in the rankings since they are exclusive auto insurance groups.

Amica Mutual ranked among the best for all the categories which include overall satisfaction, contacting the insurer, policy offerings, billing and payment, and pricing.  Contacting the insurer is a score based on how customers rate their experience dealing with the auto insurance company in terms of an agent, call center representative, website, or an automated phone system.  This may include getting car insurance quotes.

Policy offerings is based on how customers rate the type and variety of coverage options offered by the insurer.  It also factors in the extent in which the company meets their needs.  Billing and payment is based on timeliness, accuracy, and the clarity of billing statements, and the overall payment process whether through regular mail or the internet.  Pricing factors in the actual cost as well as the type of coverage at that price.  Shelter Insurance and State Farm also ranked well in the study.