NU Online News Service, June 29, 3:16 p.m. EST

For the first time, customer satisfaction with price is higher with those who have separate auto and homeowners’ insurance policies versus customers with both policies under the same insurer.

J.D. Power and Associates has released its annual auto insurance study, which measures customer satisfaction with auto insurers using factors: interaction, price, policy offerings, billing and payment, and claims.

The study, based on 28,000 responses from auto policyholders, reveals that although customers are increasingly bundling auto insurance with any additional products (77 percent do, compared to 70 percent in 2010) and are receiving discounts for doing so, the impact on customer satisfaction is not what it used to be.

“Customers have come to expect a discount for holding multiple policies with their insurer, and it appears that the positive effect of this discount has become diluted,” says Jeremy Bowler, senior director of J.D. Power’s insurance practice.

On a 1,000-point scale customer satisfaction among customers with auto and home insurance with the same insurers increase by just 7 points to 727. Satisfaction from consumers with just an auto policy increased 26 index points, J.D. Power says.

However, discounts given for accident forgiveness, ticket forgiveness, and claims-free discounts have a “dramatic impact on satisfaction—each creating more than a 40-point lift in satisfaction with discounts,” adds Bowler.

Furthermore, J.D. Power found that online interaction is the most important driver of satisfaction. More than 80 percent of people say they were able to complete an entire transaction on the company’s website.

Customers who use other technologies, such as smartphones and email, during the purchase of insurance are more satisfied than those who use only their purchase channel to meet their service needs.

“This increase in satisfaction is more pronounced among agent-serviced customers who use these emerging technologies,” J.D. Power says.

For the twelfth year in a row, Amica Mutual ranks highest in customer satisfaction with a score of 843. Rounding out the top five are Erie Insurance (825), Shelter (816), Auto Owners (815), and Ameriprise and State Farm (804).

The industry average is 790, up from 777 in 2010.

Special Reports /

J.D. Power: Customer Satisfaction Among Bundlers &lsquo;Diluted&rsquo;

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J.D. Power: Customer Satisfaction Among Bundlers ‘Diluted’