Large commercial insurers are still generating indifference from a sizable chunk of their client base, even though overall customer satisfaction has improved slightly, according to a new J.D. Power study.

While 45 percent of large commercial insurance customers said they are pleased with their relationship, 30 percent rated the relationship with their carrier as “indifferent,” the J.D. Power 2018 Large Commercial Insurance Study found.

J.D. Power said the result reflects a slight improvement compared to the previous year. The more improvement the better, because high customer satisfaction makes all the difference for carriers seeking to achieve a high renewal rate, it added.

“The group that is ‘pleased’ is 139 percent more likely to renew with their existing provider and 83 percent more likely to indicate that they will not switch insurers even if a broker recommends it,” David Pieffer, P&C Insurance Practice Lead at J.D. Power, said in prepared remarks.

What’s more, Pieffer said that “as the industry contends with high catastrophic losses and strained profitability, keeping high-value large commercial customers is more critical than ever.”

XL Catlin, now owned by AXA, ranked highest in J.D. Power’s ranking for large commercial insurer customer satisfaction, scoring 796 out of a possible 1,000 versus the industry average of 769. This was the third straight year it scored highest, J.D. Power said.

Berkshire Hathaway and Chubb followed with a 784 and 782, respectively. American Financial Group and Travelers tied for fourth, each landing a 780 customer satisfaction score.

Zurich and Tokio Marine Group scored just above the industry average with scores of 772 and 771, respectively. CNA landed just below the industry average with 767. Liberty Mutual came next with 751, and AIG followed with 748. The Hartford was next with 747, rounding out the top 10.

J.D. Power conducted its study based on evaluations from 1,659 risk professionals or employees who handle oversight for their organization or are members of their organization’s risk management team. Survey subjects had to have at least $100 million in annual revenue or operating budget and also be a commercial insurance customer from at least one of the profiled insurers or brokers, J.D. Power said.

Source: J.D. Power