Survey Uncovers No Correlation Between Financial Stability and Quality of Claim Service
New Orleans, April 15, 2002
– Risk managers note that claim service is a very significant factor in making
decisions to purchase property/casualty insurance. Furthermore, an insurer’s
financial stability does not guarantee a high level of quality claim service. These are
among the major findings of a survey of 400 risk managers released today by the Chubb
Group of Insurance Companies at the Risk & Insurance Management Society’s annual conference.
“Our research provided an in-depth look at how risk
management professionals perceive the importance of claim service when making
property/casualty insurance-buying decisions,” said Mark Korsgaard, senior vice
president and worldwide casualty claim manager, Chubb & Son, Warren, NJ. “We know
that everyone wants to pay less for coverage, but our survey demonstrates that price is
not the driving factor in selecting an insurance carrier. The events of September 11th
have proven the value of working with a financially strong carrier that also delivers on
its promise to pay claims fairly and expediently. Even those risk managers who did not
report a loss as a result of September 11th indicated a high level of ongoing evaluation
of their insurers’ claim service.”
Seventy-six percent of the respondents to
“Chubb’s Claim Service Survey: Influencing the Insurance Purchase” say
claim service is the major or a significant factor in selecting a new property/casualty
insurer, and 70% reported that claim service is highly important in evaluating their
current property/casualty insurer. Some 36% reported that they have terminated a
relationship with a property/casualty insurer because of poor claim service.
In defining what was most important about claim service,
fairness of claim resolution, speed of response and speed of claim payment were the top
three issues noted by respondents with claim-related communications issues, such as timely
updates and ease of claim reporting, secondary. Service “convenience factors”
such as claim office locations and multi-lingual claim professionals were of lesser importance.
Experience may be the best teacher when it comes to the
importance of claim service. Those who reported having filed a claim related to September
11th demonstrated a heightened awareness of the importance of claim service. This group
noted that post-September 11th, the quality of an insurer’s claim service has become
“more important.” They also “very often” have met with an
insurer’s claim professionals before placing business with an insurer.
Finally, Chubb’s survey revealed that there is no
clear correlation between an insurer’s financial strength and the quality of its
claim service. Respondents rating the claim service reputations of 17 major
property/casualty insurance companies collectively gave the highest and lowest scores to
companies that are rated A++ by A.M. Best.
“Since September 11th, many risk managers are placing
greater importance on the financial strength of their insurance carrier,” said
Korsgaard. “What these professionals also need to recognize is that although an
insurer’s ability to pay is clearly linked to its financial strength, the quality of
its claim service has much more to do with issues such as fairness and speed of payment.
Those insurance companies that are financially strong and demonstrate the claim service
attributes risk management professionals value most have the competitive edge.”
“Chubb’s Claim Service Survey: Influencing the
Insurance Purchase” was recently conducted over the Internet and received responses
from 400 risk management professionals almost entirely from the United States and Canada.
The respondents answered 25 questions, several with multiple parts and rankings.
Respondents represented both publicly and privately held companies in all types of
industries. Fifty-seven percent had annual revenues of $1 billion or more.
Copies of the survey are available from Sharon Herner,
Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, 15 Mountain View Road, Warren, NJ 07059, or by
emailing her at [email protected] This survey can
also be found on the Internet at
www.chubb.com/rims/2002survey.pdf.
The member insurers of the Chubb Group of Insurance
Companies form a multi-billion dollar organization providing property and casualty
insurance for personal and commercial customers worldwide through 5,000 independent agents
and brokers. Chubb’s global network includes branches and affiliates throughout North
America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia.
