Toronto, Ontario — A new report from CCC Intelligent Solutions Inc. titled “Moments of Truth: Customer Satisfaction and Retention in the Auto Insurance Claims and Repair Journey” reveals that customers see the collision process as a unified experience between repairers and insurers.
According to the report, “CCC Intelligent Solutions Inc. undertook a study to identify the ‘moments of truth’ in a consumers’ satisfaction with their insurers and repairers after a vehicle accident and the subsequent claim and repair journey. The study also examined the propensity to switch carriers after this journey.”
The study specifically looked at responses from 2,400 policyholders involved in an accident between August 2021 and December 2023 who filed a first-party claim and went through the repair process. The study evaluated 47 “moments” in the claims and repair journey after a policyholder had filed a first-party claim. The moments studied included how consumers perceived communications, the process, the empathy they received, the overall time to repair and more.
As a result, the study sought “to define the critical points in time in which carriers and repairers must perform well to achieve a good outcome for customer satisfaction and for carriers, customer retention.”
The study reveals that when it comes to customer satisfaction, “policyholders hold both carriers and repairers accountable for outcomes that are the responsibility of other partners. For example, respondents are more satisfied with their carriers when they perceive overall vehicle repair quality to be high, and they’re also more satisfied with their repairer when they receive clear communications about how the claims process works.”
“This suggests,” the study continues, “that in a consumer’s mind, the entire post-accident journey from ‘crash to keys’ are, in some instances, indistinguishable from one another.”
Furthermore, the study outlines three moments where the most powerful predictors of customer switching behaviour occur and these include: in a total loss, the policyholder was upside down in their outstanding loan and was able to cover the gap; the presence of an injury in an accident; and being a first-time claim filler with any insurer.
When all three moments are present, the study concludes that “there is a greater than three times increase in the likelihood of the policyholder leaving the carrier.”
To see the full report, click here.
