A newJ.D. Power and Associates study that focuses on the attitudes andhabits of auto insurance shoppers reveals that while price is a keyfactor in the shopping process, its impact on new-buyer satisfactionhas declined over the past year.

The J.D. Power and Associates 2010U.S. Insurance Shopping Study,^SM which is based on survey responses from more than 14,500shoppers who requested an auto insurance price quote from at least onecompetitive insurer in the past 12 months, reveals that 10 percent ofauto insurance shoppers did not select the provider with the lowestprice quote they received, with some shoppers foregoing considerablesavings.

In fact, 12 percent of shoppers who didn't choose the lowest-priceinsurer could have saved more than $250 had they chosen the lowestquote. Why did a significant portion of these shoppers make thedecision they did? It all comes down to customer service.

It's Not All About Money
The 2010 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study, which examines consumershopping and purchasing behaviors and overall satisfaction of buyerswho recently purchased from an auto insurance provider, includes morethan 68,000 unique insurer evaluations. The study measures autoinsurance shopper satisfaction across three factors: distributionchannel, price, and policy offerings.

The study finds that 76 percent of shoppers who obtained a quote froman insurer but did not purchase a policy from that insurer cite priceas a reason. However, price accounts for only 28 percent of overallcustomer satisfaction with the purchase experience-less important thanboth policy offerings (29%) and distribution channel (43%).

"While competitive pricing is critical to closing the sale for mostshoppers, insurers must perform on all elements of the purchaseexperience to gain and retain satisfied customers," said Jeremy Bowler,senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates."In fact, past service experiences play a considerable role in thepurchase decisions of retained customers, and in some cases, may evenoutweigh the appeal of a lower-priced competitor."