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But 84% believe their claim was handled fairly
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And only one in three who have claims turned down move insurer
However the research – which comes as insurers brace themselves for payouts of up to £1.3 billion following the winter floods devastation from Storms Desmond, Eva and Frank – shows 84% of customers say their claims were handled fairly.
Even customers who have had claims turned down do not necessarily blame the insurer – just 30% switch to a new provider after a claim is rejected, the study found.
Consumer Intelligence’s study of how satisfied customers are with claims handling shows on average they rates insurers 6.9 out of 10 with just 12% dissatisfied.
The company’s Claims Satisfaction research2 over the past two years tracking the experience of 50,000 drivers of which 11,000 have made claims reveals the top 10 firms achieve scores of up to 9.3 out of 10 for home insurance and 8.8 for motor.
Top-rated home insurance firms include M&S, NFU Mutual, RIAS, Hiscox, Co-Op, Saga, John Lewis, Lloyds, LV and Barclays. The best performers for motor included More Than, Saga, LV, Co-Op, Aviva, Esure, M&S, Direct Line, Churchill and NFU Mutual
Ian Hughes, Chief Executive of Consumer Intelligence said: “Customers tend to only see the value of insurance when they make a claim and firms clearly need to do more to ensure the experience is better.
“However they can take comfort from the fact that the vast majority of customers believe their claims are handled fairly and that satisfaction is generally high considering the criticism companies routinely face.
“Even when claims are turned down customers do not instantly leave their insurer as the research shows.”
The table below shows the issues customers have encountered while making claims.
The study shows 62% of customers who made successful claims stayed with their insurer at renewal. However 30% switched with 18% blaming a price rise and 12% the way the claim was handled.
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