Rate increases are driving more customers to obtain competitive price quotes, while satisfaction with the buying experience is trending downward among new-buyer customers due to lower price satisfaction among new buyers, according to the latest J.D. Power study.

According to the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study ^—Wave 1:

• Price satisfaction, the leading driver of overall new-buyer satisfaction, declined to 808 (on a 1,000-point scale) in 2014 Wave 1 from 821 in 2013.
• Auto customer retention averaged 97 percent, with 3 percent of auto insurance customers switching insurers, fueled by a shopping rate of 8 percent.
• More than 20 percent of new buyers purchased auto insurance online. Therefore, J.D. Powers says, insurers lacking viable quote website are not well-positioned to acquire or sell to one in five customers.
• The average annual savings when switching to a new insurer is on par with 2013 ($387 vs. $386, respectively).

“As rate increases continue to drive customers to shop around for the best price, insurers need to provide a seamless shopping experience, including competitive websites with quote compatibilities and a satisfying on-boarding experience to acquire new customers,” said Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the global insurance practice at J.D. Power. “Communicating new offerings and allowing customers to tailor their policies helps demonstrate the value of the policy and improve customer satisfaction.”

J.D. Power said the study is based on responses from more than 5,500 auto insurance shoppers. The current wave of the study was fielded in July and August 2013. This information follows the previous reporting period, the 2013 study that was published in April.