Small commercial policyholders are showing declining satisfaction with their insurance companies, for several reasons, according to J.D. Power, including less than desirable interactions, needing to exert too much effort to reach insurers and mixed messages across communication platforms. Small businesses with five or more employees were the most critical, with declining interaction scores as well as less than satisfactory experiences with websites, J.D. Power reported. The latter is of particular concern as websites were used by 45% of commercial policyholders during the past 12 months. Among businesses with 5-50 employees, satisfaction with agents saw the largest drop, according to the study, which noted these businesses are the most likely to have interactions with agents. While customer satisfaction was down overall, small business clients did show improving sentiment for pricing, which was up 22% compared with the year prior. J.D. Power noted the following takeaways as vital to pleasing small business clients:

• Make sure communications and documentations. Clients that receive proactive communication are aware when actions are being taken on their policies. However, billing-related questions typically remain and are likely to arise.
• Create a seamless omnichannel experience, synching mobile, online and phone to ensure clients can reach you with their preferred method.
• Create increased support for businesses with essential work as J.D. Power found these clients, which often have workers' comp and auto policies, are driving dissatisfaction with more employees testing positive for COVID-19.

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