Insurance customers value what agents can do for them more than they value having a choice of products and policy coverages, a new report finds.
The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents, Alexandria, Va., published this finding in a summary of results from a new report, “Touch Points—The Voice of the Customer.” The report asks insurance customers to rate their agents in respect to expert advice and counseling, personalized attention and interaction, the ability to offer comprehensive protection to meet individual needs and “relationship-based” customer service.
According to the survey, value in the rates they find me,” “that they are taking care of my insurance needs” and “trust in the person or company” are ranked 28% higher than other factors surveyed.
If the price of two policies is nearly the same, the report says, customers would most likely choose one over the other based on better coverage or a lower deductible. The survey results show that customers care about coverage and rank “better coverage” as the top reason to choose between two policies which cost about the same.
Among the report’s other findings:
—85% of customers say it is either important or very important that they are contacted by their preferred method.
—81% of customers want to be contacted when their insurance agent or company has a suggestion for how they could save money on their insurance.