Insurance has failed for the second year running to rank in the top 10 sectors for customer service and experience, new research has revealed.
The insurance sector failed to hit the mark in Engine’s Customer Experience Report 2018, and has slipped 2% since the first report in 2014.
The banking sector flew the flag for financial services, ranking as the fourth best sector with several brands, including Lloyds Bank, Barclays and Santander making the top 10 list. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Amazon stole the top spot for the brand providing the best customer service and experience.
“A 2% decrease in customers naming insurance as the best sector for customer service may appear a minor decline. However, consistently being bottom of the table should raise a red flag, especially in comparison to the banking sector, which in the last four years saw a 7% increase in customers naming it the best for customer service and experience,” said Joe Heapy, co-founder of service design consultancy Engine.
Just 13% of customers surveyed said the quality of service and customer experience they receive matters most when choosing an insurance provider – meaning there’s still more to be done when it comes to engagement.
“Compare this to the banking sector, where 33% of customers consider the level of customer service in their choice of a provider, and you can see that there is more insurance can do to be more valuable in people’s lives day-to-day,” Heapy told Insurance Business.
The fintech boom that has seen challenger banks such as Monzo make headway has been a catalyst for change in the banking sector, and Heapy suggests insurance could be next.
“Banking has been shaken up in recent years by a number of challenger banks and fintech providers entering the space and innovating products and services to improve the experience from an emotional standpoint,” he said. “The insurance sector is currently seeing disrupters reimagine how the experience should feel so we’re perhaps entering a similar shift.”
The study found that 62% of customers want businesses to focus on launching “simpler, flexible, and more affordable customer service options,” and 58% suggest that firms should provide better training and performance incentives for customer-facing staff.
