Vox Inc., a customer experience consulting firm, today releasedits First-Quarter 2007 Auto Insurance Mind Model Study, revealingfour problem areas with online auto insurance sites.

Chicago-based Vox's study evaluated the home pages and usabilityof 14 major auto insurance providers' Web sites to examine customerexpectations and discover where companies succeed or fail inattracting and retaining customers.

The study revealed four main areas that may cause frustrationand site abandonment: long quote process, lack of advanced searchfunctions, little cross-cultural information and inflexible screendesign, the firm said.

"Recognizing what customers are actually encountering when theygo online and how that varies from their needs and expectations isessential to creating the ideal customer experience," said LuisSerpa, account director and Web usability expert at Vox Inc.

Findings also revealed that despite advances in technology andmarketing strategies, customers continue to get lost in theprocess--both literally and figuratively--pointing to a continuingconflict between site design and usability, said Vox.

The study's highest scorers included State Farm and Progressive,the researcher noted. "These sites combine straightforward contentand simple design with intuitive navigation, making them highlyuser-friendly," said Vox.

Other companies evaluated include: 21st Century, Allstate,Esurance, GEICO, Liberty Mutual, American Family, Farmers,Nationwide, AAA (Chicago Motor Club), AIG, Country Financial andUSAA.

The Mind Model study is a combination of three different elementanalysis techniques that evaluate Web site home pages to understandhow typical customers experience a company's online channel, saidVox. The First-Quarter 2007 Auto Insurance Mind Model is the fourthsuch comprehensive study released by Vox.

Founded in 1997, Vox Inc. said it helps companies raise theirbottom line through higher customer retention, increased crosssales and more profitable customer life cycles. Further details areavailable at www.voxinc.com.