There is strain in customer satisfaction with homeowners insurance claims, according to the
Slow repair cycle times, widespread premium increases and the volume of
Chubb ranked highest with a score of 773 (on a 1,000-point scale). Amica ranked second with 745 and The Hartford was third with 725.
The study includes responses from 5,178 homeowner insurance customers who filed a claim within the previous nine months in 2024. The study was redesigned this year so the scores aren't comparable to previous years. The study measures satisfaction among insurance customers across eight areas including fairness of the claim settlement, level of trust, digital channels and ease of resolving the claim.
Garrett also shared that 82% of customers are often interacting with their insurer in a non-preferred way.
Gen Z and Millennials are the most comfortable using digital tools, 87% of respondents in these generations suggested they were comfortable managing the whole claims process digitally.
Garrett told Digital Insurance via an emailed response: "Insurers have invested a lot in claims functionality in mobile apps and have been promoting these features as well. Several insurers have overhauled the claim reporting experience and their claims portals for self-service. Digital tools can also speed up the process, especially for less severe claims, when photos can be used to create an estimate/pay the claim. Digital channels have also been well received as a proactive communication strategy for updates on claim progress."
The average claim cycle time is 32.4 days and the average FNOL to final payment is more than 44 days. Ease of communication appears to increase overall satisfaction scores than when it is very or somewhat difficult to communicate with an insurer. Needing to leave voicemails, needing to call with questions repeatedly and not receiving timely follow-up emails and texts are common communication failures.
Garrett wrote to Digital Insurance that communication is critical in the claim process and a big opportunity for carriers to ensure communication with representatives is easy.
For example, Garrett shared the J.D. Power study found that satisfaction is much higher when these key areas are addressed:
1. Setting up the claim well on the front end—being empathetic and setting expectations for the customer in terms of the process and general timing of initial next steps.
2. Ensuring communicating with the insurer is easy—more and more insurers rely on proactive updates through digital channels such as apps and text messages to keep customers informed on milestones of the claim; additionally being responsive to customer questions across channels.
3. Limiting problems and delays in the process—this can go hand-in-hand with good communication as it minimizes periods of uncertainty with how the claim is evolving, so good communication and expectation setting can cut down on perceived delays.
4. Consistent service—often there are several insurance representatives involved in a claim and the insurers that perform well have good consistency between different people—so sharing information, having consistent soft skills like empathy, as well as knowledge can be a key satisfier.
"Many insurers are using key points in the process to trigger automated alerts through email/text and update their self-service channels," Garrett said. "I think replying to texts faster is a key opportunity given the high percentage of customers stating they are not receiving timely responses."
Half of customers surveyed experienced premium increases within the past 12 months. The largest proportion of increases were in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
Garrett said there is also a disconnect in how often customers can use and stay in their preferred channels throughout the claim and there is a negative impact of premium increases carrying over into the claim experience.
"Customers with price increases are more sensitive to issues with their claim and are nearly twice as likely to state the claim was more complicated or longer than expected and have a more negative impression of their insurer due to the claim," Garrett shared.
