"Many customers are obtaining quotes and gathering information on insurer websites, but the day-to-day interactions they have with their insurer, especially if they have to file a claim, will be the ultimate moment of truth for the customer," says Valerie Monet, director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power.

Key findings for insurance agents and brokers

• With increasing shopping and decreasing switching among shoppers, insurer close rates—the ability to convert a prospective shopper from quoting to closing—decreased to 13% in 2015 from 18% in 2014.
• Optimizing marketing and advertising efforts to ensure strong brand awareness among prospective customers is critical for insurance providers. Despite the industry increasing its advertising budget by 6% in 2015, compared with 2014, brand awareness of insurance providers among their prospective customers declined to 60% in 2015 from 62% in 2014.

2015 customer satisfaction rankings of auto insurers

For a third consecutive year, Erie Insurance ranks highest among auto insurers in providing a satisfying purchase experience. Rounding out the top three are Ameriprise and The Hartford (tie). See the Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking chart below for a look at the top 25 auto insurers in customer satisfaction

The 2015 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study is based on responses from more than 15,600 shoppers who requested an auto insurance price quote from at least one competitive insurer in the past 9 months and includes more than 50,000 unique customer evaluations of insurers.