J.D. Power: Insurers Struggle as Auto and Home Repair Times Rise
Although digital communication channels have become key for auto and home insurers maintaining customer satisfaction throughout the claims process, many struggle to deliver seamless digital experiences as repair cycle times rise, says data analytics firm J.D. Power in its new report, 2023 US Claims Digital Experience Study.
The repair cycle time for cars has doubled in the past two years to 23 days on average, and the repair cycle time for homes has increased as well, customers disclose in the report. As a result, insurers are having a tough time meeting customer expectations and overall customer satisfaction this year stands at 854 points on a scale of 1,000, down three points from 2022. Customers continue to encounter bumps along the digital road when they make claims, submit photos, or communicate with claims staff, the report notes.
Customer satisfaction with the digital claims experience is highest when claimants receive an email, text, or mobile app update that answers all their questions. Yet in a key finding of the report, 33% of claimants said that following a digital update, they still needed to contact their insurer to ask additional questions.
Conversely, an easy digital experience drives satisfaction and loyalty, the report reveals in another key finding. Among customers who stated that the claim reporting, estimation, and settlement processes were all “very easy,” 86% said they “definitely will” renew their policy with the same carrier. The renewal rate falls to 41%, however, for those who said none of the processes were easy.
Overall satisfaction also decreases when customers have to submit their photos and information more than once, the report points out.
Founded in 1968 and headquartered today in Troy, Michigan, J.D. Power is a consumer intelligence and data analytics firm best known for its customer satisfaction surveys. Acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in 2019 for $1.9 billion, Acquia conducts customer surveys for eight industries, including automotive, financial services, and healthcare.
Cisco: App Attention Index Reveals Consumer Frustration with Brands
A new report from major communications technology supplier Cisco finds that consumers are frustrated with their current digital experiences because brands are failing to deliver the type of seamless digital experience that consumers desire.
In the latest report from Cisco’s App Attention Index research series surveying more than 15,000 global consumers, as many as 88% of respondents experienced performance issues when using applications during the 12 months ending in November 2022, up from 83% in 2021.
Moreover, 55% indicated they felt disrespected by brands whose applications did not meet their expectations, and 64% were less forgiving of brands when problems occur. At least 77% stopped using or deleted applications because of performance issues during the same period, according to the report. Consumers said they were also becoming increasingly selective about the applications they used, getting rid of application clutter and controlling the number of applications they had on devices.
Related Article: Cisco Partner Summit 2023: AI, Security, and Observability Shine
The shift in behavior and attitude toward application experience is especially prevalent with the so-called Application Generation—the group of consumers aged 18 to 34 that rely heavily on the use of applications to live and thrive in the hybrid world that has accelerated development in the COVID-19 pandemic. On average, consumers under 35 years of age use 41 different applications each month, compared with 30 applications among people 35 years of age and older.
In particular, this unique group of users reported being tired of poorly performing applications and frustrating digital experiences. As a result, members of the Application Generation are ditching applications that let them down and are walking away from brands that do not meet their digital experience expectations, a worrying trend for application [developers?]. Moreover, this generational cohort is not shy about sharing its frustrations; 70% said they are more likely to tell others or warn people of applications that do not perform.
“It’s a critical time for brands—invest in your application experience, or risk losing customers,” Ronak Desai, a senior vice president and general manager at Cisco. “Good performance is no longer enough; consumers expect only the best from their applications, and any single issue could be a reputation and revenue killer.”
Acquia: Marketers Face Challenges in Creating Better Digital Experiences
As consumer expectations for better digital experiences continue to ramp up, the biggest challenges for marketers today include access to robust customer data, personalizing content, and consumer perception of AI, reveals the new Customer Experience (CX) Trends Report from digital experience platform (DXP) provider Acquia.
With 83% of marketers saying their organization is under pressure to deliver distinctive content from that of the competition in order to stand out to customers and prospects, marketers zeroed in on the initiatives they believe to have the greatest impact on digital CX. The top factor (35%) is the ability to gather enough data about consumer preferences to create productive digital experiences, followed by the ability to create personalized content (24%).
Almost half (45%) of marketers also share that generative AI is among the top technologies exerting a positive impact on CX. However, consumers possess mixed feelings about the use of AI on a brand’s digital platform, the report finds, and less than a plurality of consumers (40%) report having a positive emotion in encountering an AI technology like a chatbot.
Related Article: Acquia Study: Marketers Changed Digital CX Strategies While the Pandemic Raged On
A notable finding of the report is that digital experiences must be human-centric—inclusive for all users regardless of their abilities, and accessible as well to add business value. A human-centric digital experience can also provide marketers opportunities to build trust with consumers to earn their willingness to provide first-party data crucial to building a robust customer database.
Not all consumers are comfortable providing their personal data to brands, the report says. The comfort level for Gen Z consumers is 80%, but the figure contracts to 55% for Baby Boomers.
The new Acquia report is based on a survey conducted in September 2023 of 3,000 consumers and 300 marketers in Australia, the UK, and the US. Massachusetts-based Acquia is the provider of Drupal, an open-source software and platform for building, delivering, and optimizing DX.
Author Information
Alex is responsible for writing about trends and changes that are impacting the customer experience market. He had served as Principal Editor at Village Intelligence, a Los Angeles-based consultancy on technology impacting healthcare and healthcare-related industries. Alex was also Associate Director for Content Management at Omdia and Informa Tech, where he produced white papers, executive summaries, market insights, blogs, and other key content assets. His areas of coverage spanned the sectors grouped under the technology vertical, including semiconductors, smart technologies, enterprise & IT, media, displays, mobile, power, healthcare, China research, industrial and IoT, automotive, and transformative technologies.
At IHS Markit, he was Managing Editor of the company’s flagship IHS Quarterly, covering aerospace & defense, economics & country risk, chemicals, oil & gas, and other IHS verticals. He was Principal Editor of analyst output at iSuppli Corp. and Managing Editor of Market Watch, a fortnightly newsletter highlighting significant analyst report findings for pitching to the media. He started his career in writing as an Editor-Reporter for The Associated Press.
