The Auto Channel
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
Official Website of the New Car Buyer

Amica Mutual Leads the Auto Insurance Industry in Customer Satisfaction

19 September 2000

J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Amica Mutual Leads the Auto Insurance Industry in Customer Satisfaction, Followed by Erie Insurance and State Farm Mutual Insurance

    AGOURA HILLS, Calif.--Sept. 18, 2000--

Inaugural National Insurance Study Finds Consumer Willingness to Replace Agents With More Direct Channels

    Automotive insurance policy holders report relatively high satisfaction with their current auto insurance carrier, according to the J.D. Power and Associates inaugural National Auto Insurance Customer Satisfaction Study(SM) released today.
    Amica Mutual ranks highest in the study, followed by Erie Insurance and State Farm Mutual Insurance.
    Although these three providers have unique business models, each excels in the areas of meeting customer requirements related to service, billing and handling claims.
    The primary drivers of overall satisfaction with an automotive insurance carrier include: the ability of the carrier to fulfill the commitments made at the time of purchase; the ongoing support and guidance provided by company personnel; billing practices; and price competitiveness.
    "The study shows that the ability of insurance providers to settle claims quickly and fairly is also extremely important to those policy holders who have filed a claim," said Frank Forkin, partner at J.D. Power and Associates. "However, only 34 percent of policy holders report filing a claim in the past three years. Therefore, the interaction between the insurance carrier and the policy holder is more often than not limited to the sale/renewal, follow up and billing experience."
    While more than 75 percent of customers think it is important to have an auto insurance agent, many are willing to drop their agent for a better price. Approximately 20 percent of customers indicate a willingness to drop their agent if doing so would result in a $100 reduction in their premium, and more than 50 percent indicate they would drop their agent if the reduction would result in a savings of $200 or more.
    Another threat to the traditional agent/policy holder relationship may be providers' use of the Internet to sell auto insurance. While only 7 percent of consumers have used the Internet in the past during the auto insurance shopping/purchase process, 32 percent indicate they intend to do so in the future.
    "Those companies that can provide the personalized services traditionally associated with agents while offering the flexibility of purchasing services over the Internet will be the most successful providers," Forkin said.
    USAA, an insurance provider open only to active and retired military personnel and their immediate families, and therefore not included in the ranking, scored highest among all companies included in the study.
    The study is based on responses from more than 13,000 auto insurance policy holders who reside in the United States.
    

        J.D. Power and Associates 2000 National Auto Insurance
                   Customer Satisfaction Survey(SM)

                    Overall Customer Satisfaction

Note: The rankings are based on a scale of 0 to 1000: 0 being
unacceptable and 900 to 1000 truly outstanding.

                     Amica Mutual . . . . . . 909
                     Erie . . . . . . . . . . 852
                     State Farm . . . . . . . 841
                     21st Century . . . . . . 835
                     GEICO . . . . . . . . . .832
                     AAA . . . . . . . . . . .826
                     Nationwide . . . . . . . 820
                     The Hartford . . . . . . 817
                     Liberty Mutual . . . . . 816
                     Allstate . . . . . . . . 809
                     Industry Average . . . . 809

                     USAA . . . . . . . . . . 937(a)

(a) USAA not ranked given it is only open to military personnel
and immediate families.

Finishing below the industry average in alphabetical order are: AIG,
American Family, Farmers, Progressive, Prudential, SAFECO,
Travelers/Citigroup

Source: J.D. Power and Associates 2000 National Auto Insurance
Customer Satisfaction Study(SM)

        J.D. Power and Associates 2000 National Auto Insurance
                   Customer Satisfaction Study(SM)

  How Much Lower Would Your Premiums Need to be Lowered to Consider
             Purchasing Auto Insurance Without an Agent?

                          $0 . . . . . . .  2%
                         $50 . . . . . . .  8%
                        $100 . . . . . . . 21%
                        $150 . . . . . . . 28%
                        $200 . . . . . . . 36%
                        More than $200 . . 58%

Note: Sample base excludes consumers already purchasing auto insurance
without an agent.

Source: J.D. Power and Associates 2000 National Auto Insurance
Customer Satisfaction Study(SM)

           Internet Usage During Shopping/Purchasing Process

Note: Percentages are based on a scale of 0% to 50%.

                       Would Use . . . . . .32%
                       Have Used . . . . . . 7%

Source: J.D. Power and Associates 2000 National Auto Insurance
Customer Satisfaction Study(SM)

Charts and graphs extracted from this news release must be accompanied
by a statement identifying J.D. Power and Associates as the publisher
and the J.D. Power and Associates National Auto Insurance Customer
Satisfaction Study(SM) as the source. No advertising or other
promotional use can be made of the information in this release or J.D.
Power and Associates survey results without the express prior written
consent of J.D. Power and Associates.