J.D. Power: Small business insurance customer satisfaction hits all-time high
The exception to this bump in satisfaction were businesses with fewer than five employees.
In spite of climbing interest rates and a tough market, small business owners are happier than ever with their insurance providers. J.D. Power’s 2023 U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study showed satisfaction of small business insurance customers with their commercial insurers has hit an all-time high, reaching 847 on J.D. Power’s 1,000-point scale. This is an increase of 5 points from 2022 and 70 points from a decade ago.
The exception to this bump in satisfaction were businesses with fewer than five employees – also referred to as micro businesses.
“Contrary to what we’ve seen in personal lines insurance, small business customer satisfaction keeps rising even as premiums have continued to climb,” Stephen Crewdson, senior director of global insurance intelligence at J.D. Power, said in a release. “While the overall satisfaction numbers are high, there are some important variations based on the size of the small business. The trend is really being driven by businesses in the ranges of five to 10 employees and 11-50 employees, as opposed to the micro businesses with fewer than five employees. That variation should inform more targeted small business strategies on the part of insurers.”
The survey also found that small business customers are more likely to be satisfied with insurers that are up-front about premium increases and work with them to find ways to minimize them. Satisfaction with the price of their policy increased 84 points for the 36% of customers who reported changing their coverage to minimize a price increase. Meanwhile, price satisfaction rose 135 points for the 25% of customers who changed their business practices to reduce their risk.
When it comes to specific insurers, J.D. Power found Nationwide ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction, followed by State Farm and Cincinnati Insurance.