Claims Department Satisfaction May Shock You

The latest J.D. Power survey brings surprising news about how we feel about insurance claims departments.

How would you have rated your claims department?

Have you had a car insurance claim lately and come out of the experience satisfied with the claims department you were working with? If not, you probably weren’t one of the many people that J.D. Power surveyed recently about claims satisfaction then. From their survey results more people are happy with their claims department dealings, and the satisfaction rates are up even more than they were last year.

How Claims Department Satisfaction Ratings Were Determined

Because I can’t say it any better than J.D. Power did in their press release, here are the details of how the results of this claims department survey were gathered.

“The 2012 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study is based on responses from more than 12,508 auto insurance customers who settled a claim within the past 6 months. The study excludes claimants whose vehicle only incurred glass/windshield damage or was stolen, or who only filed roadside assistance claims. Survey data was collected between November 2011 and September 2012.”

What Was Rated for Claims Department Satisfaction

J.D. Power used 6 different factors for people to rate the claims departments on at the insurance companies. They were rated by:

• Overall Satisfaction: Score is based on how the survey participants rated their overall claims experience.
• First Notice of Loss: Based on how survey participants, that were claimants, rate the insurance company itself based on the claims process.
• Service Interaction: Rated from how the survey participant felt about how their claim was handled by the claims department or adjuster.
• Appraisal: Score based on how the survey participants rated the insurance company’s handling of the appraisal process.
• Repair Process: Score based on how the survey participants rated the insurance company’s handling of the repair process.
• Rental Experience: Score based on how the survey participants rated the fairness of the settlement for the claim by the claims department that was handling the claim.
• Settlement: Score based on how the survey participants rated the insurance company’s handling of the appraisal process.

Overall Findings of the Report

J.D. Power used a 1,000 point scale when compiling the results of their survey for each of the different factors that they had survey participants rate. They found that overall claimant satisfaction was at 852 which is a 6 point increase from last year. In fact, most of the factors that were rated saw an increase in satisfaction from the survey participants.

This increase in points means that people are more satisfied with their claims experience this year than they were last year.

(to be continued in part 2)