Insurers' Call Centers Found Much Improved

A customer service consulting firm said a study it will release next week has found that customer satisfaction with insurance industry contact centers improved more than any other industry.

According to the research by Ann Arbor, Mich.-based CFI Group, customer service representatives score better than most sectors, trailing only retail contact center service reps.

The findings represent a big turnaround for insurers. Last year, the CFI survey found that insurance call center service scored below average ratings compared to five other industries.

The 2007 survey placed insurers second to last in customer call service satisfaction, with a rating of 68 on the index's 100 point scale.

This year's good news was somewhat tempered, as CRI said it found that 17 percent of customers reported their issues were still unresolved after calling.

For those customers who still had unresolved issues, satisfaction was 47 percent lower--and nearly half of those customers are considering, or have already decided to take their business elsewhere, the firm found

The findings are contained in the second annual CFI Group Contact Center Satisfaction Index, due to be released on Tuesday.

CFI Group said it uses the methodology of the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) to determine the impacts of customer satisfaction with call centers on loyalty, retention, word of mouth, and even return on investment.

This year, the company said its Contact Center Satisfaction Index measured customer satisfaction with call centers in eight different industries--two more than last year--including: Banking, cable and satellite TV, cell phone service, insurance, personal computers, retail, government and hotels. The last two were added this year.

The study, said CFI, provides insights into how insurance call centers perform relative to call centers in other industries, and also highlights the strengths and weaknesses in call centers in each specific industry.