Insurer trust gap widens amid brokers doing more to build consumer loyalty

The gap between consumers’ expectations of how insurers will treat them and their actual experience has widened further.

That was according to the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), which revealed in its latest Public Trust Index survey that the gap was the largest since 2019.

Published today (8 July 2024), it highlighted that the disparity reflected consumers wanting loyalty rewards – such as not paying more than a new customer – yet reporting reporting lower satisfaction in this respect.

The difference has risen for a sixth consecutive survey and is now at +10.59, above its previous recorded peak of +10.35 in May 2020.

This is despite the FCA’s general insurance pricing reform, which was implemented on 1 January 2022, being designed to abolish price walking.

It means that insurers cannot offer cheaper policies to new customers while increasing prices for existing policyholders.

Consumers also reported an erosion in their experiences in relation to claims journeys compared to the previous survey.

However, the importance they placed on these factors also declined in the latest survey, causing the associated opportunity gaps to narrow.

Dr Matt Connell, group policy and public affairs director at the CII, said: “Insurers have done a great deal to comply with the FCA’s General Insurance pricing rules over recent years, but these latest data suggest consumers are yet to be convinced that they are benefitting.”

Brokers

Meanwhile, the CII also revealed that brokers were doing more to build consumer loyalty and confidence than price comparison sites, banks and building societies, or insurers.

Connell explained that ”consumers rated brokers’ performance as better than any other for buying insurance”.

”The results underline the importance of interactive advice to consumer understanding,” he said.

”While some may see the services brokers offer as simply a cost to the consumer, it is clear from this evidence that if insurers want to achieve the highest levels of consumer understanding, a tailored explanation from an adviser is essential.”