Auto insurers have something to celebrate: Overall customer satisfaction with the sector has reached a record high.

J.D. Power’s 2018 U.S. Auto Insurance Study found that overall customer satisfaction in 2018 has improved to a record high level of 826 out of 1,000. Results suggest that better service has helped boost the numbers, along with the rise of digital insurance customer platforms.

“Customer satisfaction is at its highest when customers take care of transactions themselves and save the high-value transactions for live channels,” Robert Lajdziak, insurance practice business consultant at J.D. Power, said in prepared remarks.

Lajdziak added that the digital self-service options are “putting pressure on agents to evolve their value proposition to offer more products and services to customers with complex needs and risks.”

Some findings from the 2018 study:

• Customer satisfaction improved across all factors measured, including an 11-point gain in billing process and policy information, a 10-point bump for policy offerings and a six-point rise regarding price. J.D. Power said that customers were particularly pleased with electronic statements and monthly billing.

• Customers appear to love communicating with their insurers both online and offline. But digital reigned supreme in some key transactions, with 73 percent preferring digital for verifying payment receipt and 70 percent preferring the technology for making payment. About 66 percent liked digital for ordering proof-of-insurance cards.

• Customers like to hear from their insurers when a premium increase is coming. Overall customer satisfaction hits 797 when customers are informed in advance about a premium increase. But a lack of notification happens nearly half of the time. When it does, overall satisfaction drops to 748.

• About 10 percent of insurance customers now participate in usage-based insurance programs, up from 8 percent in 2016 and 2017.

The study looked at customer satisfaction in terms of interaction, policy offerings, price, billing process and policy information. J.D. Power assembled the study based on responses from 44,622 auto insurance customers from February to April 2018.

Source: J.D. Power