A lack of empathy and support from insurers was a key complaint from younger insureds, however

Exactly 93% of consumers and 94% of businesses are satisfied with the service they receive from their current insurers, according to new research by DWF, published yesterday (18 May 2022).

Nearly half of consumers (41%) and businesses (42%) reported that the pandemic has made them appreciate the importance of insurance policies much more.

DWF’s research was based on an online survey conducted during November 2021 among 403 directors from a business cohort in addition to 2,000 individual consumers.

Nigel Teasdale, commercial director of insurance at DWF, said that “the insurance industry will no doubt greatly welcome the fact that buyers’ perceptions of their services appear to have not been adversely impacted by the pandemic”.

Room for improvement

However, the results are not uniformly positive – 66% of consumers and 70% of businesses stated that choosing or buying an insurance policy was always a difficult process.

Among those aged 18 to 24, 32% have felt let down by their insurer – this was double the combined average of other age groups (16%).

The dissatisfaction stems from a perceived lack of empathy and support from insurers, according to DWF.

Claire Bowler, global head of the insurance sector at DWF, hopes firms will use the research findings to improve, “specifically around businesses and consumers wanting a more nuanced, tailored and responsive service from their insurers”.

“Younger customers in particular seem willing to pay for more innovative, personalised and customised products, which gives insurers the perfect opportunity to refine their offering, develop new solutions and forge enhanced relationships with their customers,” she added.

Around 25% of 18 to 24 years olds were willing to consider higher premiums.

According to the report, buyers wanted clearer policy documents – written in plain English with greater clarity around product information, as well as more transparent explanations of any caveats or exclusions.

A further 70% wanted to know more about the benefits of personalisation and customisation, but concerns over data protection remained – 49% of consumers believed that personalisation meant losing control over personal data and 45% did not feel comfortable about insurers using or having access to their personal data to inform products.

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