Four mutual insurance companies, including two ICMIF members (Shelter Insurance and Wawanesa) were top ranked in terms of the highest customer satisfaction among auto insurers across all 11 regions of the USA in the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Auto Insurance Study.

The annual survey from global data and analytics company J.D. Power, now in its 24th year, examines customer satisfaction in five factors (in alphabetical order): billing process and policy information; claims; interaction; policy offerings; and price. The study is based on responses from 41,437 auto insurance customers and was fielded in January to April 2023. New this year, the study has introduced a national award category for UBI, along with diagnostics that influence UBI participants’ experience with insurers’ usage-based auto products. The study measures customer satisfaction with auto insurance in 11 geographic regions.

ICMIF members Shelter Insurance and Wawanesa Insurance were the highest ranked auto insurers in the Central and California regions respectively.

Highest-ranking auto insurers and scores, by region, are as follows (mutual companies are in bold):

California: Wawanesa (843) (for a fourth consecutive year)
Central: Shelter (851) (for a third consecutive year)
Florida: State Farm (833)
Mid-Atlantic: Erie Insurance (863) (for a second consecutive year)
New England: GEICO (836)
New York: New York Central Mutual (842) (for a second consecutive year)
North Central: Erie Insurance (844) (for a third consecutive year)
Northwest: The Hartford (836) (for a second consecutive year)
Southeast: Farm Bureau Insurance – Tennessee (866) (for a 12th consecutive year)
Southwest: State Farm (835) (for a second consecutive year)
Texas: Auto Club of Southern California (AAA) (839)

Usage Based Insurance (UBI): GEICO (824), Progressive (824) and State Farm (824) in a tie

ICMIF members Shelter and Wawanesa top regional rankings

Shelter received the highest score in the Central region in the J.D. Power studies for 2018-2019 and 2021-2023. In this most recent study, Shelter was first in the following factors: interaction, billing process and policy information, policy offerings and claims.

“This award means a great deal to all of us this year,” said Randa Rawlins, President and CEO of the Shelter Insurance Companies. “The storms have taken a toll on our customers and I’m so pleased that our agents and employees have provided the level of service and support that led to us receiving this honour again. I’m grateful for the customers who provided positive feedback through the survey and appreciative of the continued hard work from the Shelter team that led to this.”

Wawanesa has been awarded “Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Auto Insurers in California” for the fourth year in a row.

“Against some of the most challenging market conditions we have ever faced in California, we stayed focused on providing our members with excellent service,” said Chris Henn, President, Wawanesa Insurance. “I want to thank our employees for going the extra mile in service of our members, and achieving this recognition for the fourth year in a row. It is an honor to once again be recognised by our members for the high-quality service we provide.”

Wawanesa Insurance is the US division of Canadian-based Wawanesa Mutual Insurance, a diversified North American insurer that serves more than two million policyholders in Canada and the United States. Wawanesa Insurance currently offers auto and renters insurance in California and Oregon and has been serving auto and property customers in California since 1975.

Key findings of the 2023 study

• Surging rates topple customer satisfaction: Auto insurance price increases are three times higher than other categories tracked by the Consumer Price Index (15.5% vs. an average of 4.9%). Overall customer satisfaction with auto insurance providers is 822, down from 834 a year ago. The decline is driven by a 25-point decrease in customer satisfaction with the price of their policies.
• Price increases were likely more prevalent: More customers likely experienced increases but awareness is affected by the method and frequency of billing and payments. Among those customers who received a bill in the mail and paid in full via credit card, nearly half (45%) said they had a price increase, compared with more than one-fourth (28%) of those who received a digital bill and made automatic recurring instalment payments.
• Not all customers react the same: Some groups of customers had a more negative reaction to price increases, including those who either rent their residence or do not bundle their home and auto insurance; are single car/single driver households; are open to switching insurers; or those who have a lower perception of their insurer being trustworthy.
• UBI sees record adoption: Participation in usage-based insurance programs has more than doubled since 2016, with 17% of auto insurance customers now participating in such programs. Price satisfaction among customers participating in these programs is 59 points higher on average than among non-participants.
• As UBI adoption gains, growing pains emerge: While more customers than ever have adopted UBI, the programs are still relatively new. One-third (33%) of customers currently using UBI have been on the program for less than one year. Concerns over accuracy of data collected by UBI technologies has become a pain point, with just 38% of customers indicating that the information collected is “always accurate.”
• Softening the blow of a price increase: While price increases are never good for customer satisfaction, notifying customers in advance through their preferred channel (e.g., phone call from their agent) and making the reason for the increase clear as well as discussing any options that may be available, such as UBI, can make a big difference in how they are perceived by customers. The amount of the price increase also affects customer satisfaction, with a 137-point difference in price satisfaction between those experiencing an increase of more than USD 300 vs. those experiencing an increase of USD 50 or less.