13 renters’ insurance companies ranked highest for customer satisfaction

U.S. homeowners and renters' insurance customer satisfaction scores have reached an all-time high, according to the new 2017 J.D. Power Home Insurance Study. Improvements in policy offers have driven these high scores: 808 (on a 1,000-point scale) among homeowners, and 834 among renters. Related: 20 homeowners' insurance companies ranked highest for customer satisfaction J.D. Power researchers say these record numbers come after a multi-year run of declining catastrophic losses and relatively stable pricing.

Threats to insurers

Researchers note insurers face a critical test maintaining these high scores among customers following this season's devastating string of catastrophic natural disasters that created historic property losses and profit strains.  "Although property insurers have made great strides in overall customer satisfaction over the past several years, the areas where they consistently see the lowest satisfaction scores are price and direct customer service," said Greg Hoeg, Vice President of U.S. Insurance Operations at J.D. Power. "Those two areas in particular will be under enormous stress as insurers address losses from the recent hurricanes." Related: 5 reasons why renters need insurance J.D. Power researchers say rising insurance technology innovators also pose a threat to traditional insurers. The study notes that InsurTech companies have raised over $7.1 billion globally since 2012. This is particularly important information when considering millennials customers, who, according to the report, are the most aware and interested in purchasing from one of these InsurTech companies in the future.

Renters' demographics

According to the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), 63% of U.S. households are owner-occupied, and 37% are renter-occupied. Of these two groups, a 2016 Insurance Information Institute poll reports that 95% of homeowners had homeowners' insurance, but among renters, only 41% said they had renters' insurance. Related: Renter households reach 50-year high The NMHC reports that 50% of renters are under the age of 30.

Study rankings

The results of the U.S. Home Insurance Study are based on responses from 15,909 online interviews. To conduct this annual study, satisfaction among homeowners and renters' insurance customers was measured by examining 5 factors:

1. Interaction.
2. Policy offerings.
3. Price.
4. Billing process and policy information.
5. Claims.

Satisfaction is calculated on a 1,000-point scale. Above are the top 13 renters insurance companies ranked highest for customer satisfaction, according to J.D. Power's 2017 U.S. 2017 home insurance study. Related: Renters insurance: Here are 5 key facts that all agents & brokers need to know