Despite increasing auto insurance premiums and industry challenges, consumers still trust their insurers: RATESDOTCA Annual Best Auto Insurance Study

The RATESDOTCA Annual Best Auto Insurance Study, the largest survey of its kind in Canada, measures drivers of customer satisfaction with auto insurance companies in Ontario and Alberta, the two largest private auto insurance markets in the country. The study focuses on the entirety of customers' experience with their current auto insurance company to understand and measure levels of satisfaction in trustworthiness, claims experience, policy documents and billing statements. The results of the study, fielded in the fall of 2024, show that the significant challenges the auto insurance industry and consumers have faced over the past year have not damaged consumer's perceptions of their insurance companies, with the majority of survey respondents in Ontario and Alberta maintaining high levels of satisfaction and trust in their insurers.   

"Last year was a very tough year for auto insurers and the consumers they serve," says Igal Mayer, CEO of RATESDOTCA. "Inflationary pricing, increasing repair costs and auto theft are all pushing claims costs higher, meaning higher premium prices for many consumers that are already being squeezed by the rising cost of living. More than ever, maintaining consumer trust is imperative for insurance companies. The results of the study show that, on balance, the auto insurance industry is doing a good job of maintaining strong relationships with customers during very difficult times."

"This study illustrates that trust is a cornerstone of the insurer-consumer relationship," says Craig Worden, President at Pollara Strategic Insights. "The majority of respondents trust their insurers, and we found that trusting the brand is more important to a customer's overall satisfaction than how satisfied they are with filing an insurance claim, policy documents and their billing statements."

Key study findings:

• Despite challenges, consumers maintain high levels of trust and satisfaction with their insurance companies: Consumers reported high levels of overall satisfaction with their insurance companies, with overall satisfaction reaching 82%, up 2 percentage points YoY, and 76% of respondents reporting they believe that their insurance company is a trustworthy brand.
  
  
• 1:1 live communications are important to consumers: Those who communicated with a live person are slightly more satisfied with their insurance company overall than those who communicated by messages via app/website or email. Regardless of how someone communicated, it's critical that insurance companies communicate through a customer's preferred communications channel – overall satisfaction with insurance companies is 85% amongst those who communicated using their channel of choice vs. 70% for those who did not. The study results support the importance of 1:1 live communications and that a multi-channel strategy is the best way to keep consumers satisfied and loyal to their insurance company.
  
  
• Older customers are generally more satisfied: Older customers assign higher performance ratings across all aspects of service than younger cohorts. This includes: service provided by representatives, timely claims resolution, and communications around payments. This demarcation also applies to overall satisfaction with premium price and value for cost, with older cohorts generally more satisfied than younger.
  
  
• Digital interactions remain low in the insurance industry: Across insurance companies in the RATESDOTCA Annual Best Auto Insurance Study, only 3% of claimants report receiving updates from their insurer through an online app and 2% through a secure website. In overall communications with insurance companies, the study shows higher preference for digital forms of communication in the younger demographic, pointing to a potential future in which digital communications may play a more important role. This is already a trend in the U.S. where, according to J.D. Power, overall customer satisfaction with home and auto insurance digital claims experience*** rose 17 points in 2024, and customer satisfaction scores were highest when insurer mobile apps were used to report a claim.
  
  
• Those with Usage Based Insurance (UBI) policies are more satisfied with their insurance companies: Those that have UBI policies report higher levels of satisfaction with their insurance companies (89% versus 81%) than those without UBI policies. We also found that although 60% of customers say they are at least somewhat familiar with UBI, very few currently have a UBI policy, and only 28% are likely to consider it for their next policy with a discount of at least 5%. Though younger cohorts are more familiar with UBI, older UBI policyholders are more likely to continue using a UBI policy.

RATESDOTCA Annual Best Auto Insurance Rankings

Best Overall
The insurance company that performs the best across several categories. Rankings are weighted based on how important each element is to overall customer satisfaction.

1. CAA Insurance Company
2. Gore Mutual Insurance
3. Intact Insurance
 
Most Trustworthy
How trustworthy an insurance company's brand is perceived by customers is the most important driver of customer satisfaction.
 
1. CAA
2. Gore Mutual Insurance
3. Intact Insurance / Wawanesa Insurance (tied)
 
Best Auto Claims Experience
This category is based on only customers who have filed a claim in the past year, based on the ratings they provided about their claims experience.
 
1. Northbridge Insurance
2. CAA
3. Intact Insurance
 
Best Policy Documents
Based on customers' overall satisfaction with the policy documents and perceptions of the documents in terms of being easy to understand coverages, who to contact, and the premium and billing schedule.
 
1. CAA
2. Gore Mutual Insurance
3. Economical Insurance
 
Best Billing Statements
Based on overall satisfaction with the billing statements provided by the insurance company and brokerage and perceptions about payment options provided, easy to understand statements, payment notices and communicating changes.
 
1. CAA
2. Gore Mutual Insurance
3. Intact

*Canadian Underwriter, October 30, 2024, Ref. Applied Ratings Index Q3, 2024
***J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Claims Digital Experience Study, Dec. 3, 2024

**RATESDOTCA Annual Best Auto Insurance Study
The RATESDOTCA Annual Best Auto Insurance Study is the largest survey of auto insurance customers in Canada, contacting customers from nine insurance brokerages in Ontario and Alberta – the two largest markets for private auto insurance in the country. Conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights, the survey was completed from September 16 to October 8, 2024, using an online survey methodology, surveying a total of n=12,600 auto insurance customers who take part in decisions regarding insurance for their household. This is a survey dedicated solely to satisfaction with auto insurance, with questions focused on the entirety of experience with one insurance company to understand and measure what drives customer satisfaction. Underwriting carriers were identified by policy, not customer recall, ensuring accuracy in carrier identification. The study includes brands which are not typically reported in surveys of the general population of insurance consumers due to their relatively small market share.
 
For more insights from the study: http://www.rates.ca/annual-best-auto-insurance-study

About RATESDOTCA
RATESDOTCA is Canada's leading insurance rate comparison platform, dedicated to providing seamless, digital-first experiences for Canadians. Based in Toronto, Ontario, RATESDOTCA has been a trusted name in the auto insurance industry for over 20 years, serving more than 5 million Canadians annually. As an industry pioneer, RATESDOTCA revolutionized the market by being the first to introduce online tools that allow users to compare over 50 auto and home insurance quotes instantly.

About Pollara Strategic Insights
Founded in 1985, Pollara Strategic Insights is a Canadian public opinion and market research firm that provides custom quantitative and qualitative research as well as a suite of proprietary research models and syndicated studies. Pollara Strategic Insights is a founding, accredited Gold Seal member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC). They are in full compliance with the CRIC Canadian Code of Market, Opinion, and Social Research and Data Analytics, the CRIC Public Opinion Research Standards and Disclosure Requirements, the CRIC Pledge to Canadians and ISO 20252:2019.

RATESDOTCA media relations contact:
Laura Fitch, Director PR & Editorial, 416.906.5629, [email protected]

Pollara Strategic Insights media relations contact:
Craig Worden, President & Chief Innovation Officer, 416.921.0090, [email protected]

SOURCE RATESDOTCA Group Ltd.