2009 National Homeowners Insurance Study

A new study by J.D. Power and Associates reveals that, in spite of the recent troubles in the housing industry, homeowners appear to be very happy with their insurance companies. For the first time in five years, overall satisfaction with homeowners insurance has increased significantly, driven by favorable customer perceptions of the value of their policies, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 National Homeowners Insurance Study.^SM

Contributing to the improved perceptions of policy value are shifts in the perceived prevalence of discounts. The percentage of policyholders who report receiving discounts has increased in 2009 to 84 percent from 81 percent in 2008. Of the 27 insurance companies included in the study, 10 have experienced notable increases from 2008 in the proportion of their customers who report getting discounts. Policyholders who receive discounts are significantly more satisfied than those who either do not receive discounts or are unsure of the discounts they receive.

“To maximize the lift in satisfaction that discounts may bring, insurance companies must clearly inform customers of the number and types of discounts they are receiving,” said Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “Even if a customer’s policy doesn’t change, satisfaction may improve by more than 90 points when they’re informed of the discounts they qualify for and are getting, compared with when they have no awareness of the discounts.”

Now in its ninth year, the National Homeowners Insurance Study measures customer satisfaction with homeowners insurance companies by examining five key factors:

policy offerings

price

billing and payment

interaction

claims

Overall satisfaction with homeowners insurance companies averages 773 on a 1,000-point scale in 2009—increasing by 21 points from 2008. The overall increase is primarily attributable to substantial improvements in the price, policy offerings and billing and payment factors. In particular, satisfaction with price has improved most notably—increasing by 46 points from 2008.