A new study from J.D. Power and Associates finds that customer experience and service plays a big part in whether or not customers renew their auto insurance policies.  According to the study, customers view their interactions with companies as the single most important factor when it comes to measuring service satisfaction.  That means that how insurance companies interact with customers is more important than policy offerings, billing and payment, price and claims.

The report goes on to cite examples of best practices that companies are implementing to improve overall customer experience.  With one third of customers saying they interact online, enhancing the online experience is becoming increasingly important.  "Even though customer satisfaction ratings for Web interactions tend to be lower than those for agency or call center experiences, the gap is closing," said Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "Satisfaction is highest among the 77 percent of customers who were able to complete an entire service transaction online, such as making a bill payment. Some carriers have made substantial enhancements to their Web site functionality in recent years, which can generate benefits such as a reduction in servicing costs and, ultimately, higher customer satisfaction. For these reasons, it is important for insurance companies to provide online policy access, a user-friendly Web site and to effectively convey the availability of these services to their customers."

 In July, Forrester Research found that insurers have been slow to merge into the online world, but noted that click to call and chat could help ease the transition.  According to their findings, "Among applicants of other financial services products, Forrester has found that online services that "hand-hold" consumers through complex online activities via tools like online chat and click-to-call are even more helpful to prospects than traditional research methods."