2010 Insurance Shopping Study

A new J.D. Power and Associates study that focuses on the attitudes and habits of auto insurance shoppers reveals that while price is a key factor in the shopping process, its impact on new-buyer satisfaction has declined over the past year.

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

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

It’s Not All About Money
The 2010 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study, which examines consumer shopping and purchasing behaviors and overall satisfaction of buyers who recently purchased from an auto insurance provider, includes more than 68,000 unique insurer evaluations. The study measures auto insurance shopper satisfaction across three factors: distribution channel, price, and policy offerings.

The study finds that 76 percent of shoppers who obtained a quote from an insurer but did not purchase a policy from that insurer cite price as a reason. However, price accounts for only 28 percent of overall customer satisfaction with the purchase experience—less important than both policy offerings (29%) and distribution channel (43%).

“While competitive pricing is critical to closing the sale for most shoppers, insurers must perform on all elements of the purchase experience 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 the purchase decisions of retained customers, and in some cases, may even outweigh the appeal of a lower-priced competitor.”