Auto Insurance Rate Hikes Erode Price Satisfaction, Drive Surge in Value Shopping

Auto insurers are caught between a rock and a hard place. On one side: runaway demand in used vehicles that drove prices up an average of 41% in 2021, pushing vehicle replacement and repair costs into uncharted territory. On the other: frustrated customers, disillusioned by the rate increases insurers have introduced to confront these rising costs, who are now shopping for better policies that are more personalized to their own risk. According to the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study,^SM released today, auto insurance customer satisfaction with price has plummeted, driving a surge in new-policy shopping activity while also dragging on the purchase experience index.

“A perfect storm of record-high replacement costs, increased frequency and severity of collisions and an economic outlook that suggests this situation won’t change anytime soon is forcing a major industry disruption,” said Marty Ellingsworth, executive managing director of P&C insurance intelligence at J.D. Power. “In the near term, that disruption is manifesting itself in very low customer satisfaction with price and high rates of new policy shopping. Longer term, this may be the catalyst to significant adoption of usage-based insurance, which may be the only way insurers can navigate the financial realities while still managing to engage with customers and build loyalty by meeting their specific needs.”

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