Gracechurch-BIBA survey – Insurer service improves but still room for improvement

Authored by BIBA

The latest results of the Gracechurch-BIBA UK Insurers Monitor show that the average Insurer Net Promoter Score (NPS) is up by 9 points since January, and +16 points since mid-2022, a solid trend of improvement.

The results from the independent UK-wide commercial broker study, also show that while there has been an upswing, overall NPS is still below zero (-4) indicating plenty of room for further improvement.

Graeme Trudgill, BIBA CEO, said: “We are really pleased to see objective evidence of positive progress on service and hope that the pace of improvement continues, especially because we are all working in a challenging economic environment where poor service can erode trust.  I am also encouraged that the detailed results are being used by insurers to pinpoint where improvements can be made and that some insurers are really picking up the baton and taking positive action.”

The September results show 9 out of 22 insurers now have a positive NPS with the highest scoring insurer setting the pace with an impressive NPS of +28.

Gracechurch MD, Ben Bolton, commented: “When we started the study in mid’22 insurer scores were pretty low across the board and only one insurer was in positive NPS territory. However, in the last 7-8 months we have seen several insurers’ service levels pick up strongly, sufficient to move the overall market performance in a positive direction.”

However, there is still some way to go before the sector is firing on all cylinders. There are six insurers with scores of -22 or less and a widening gap between the best and the worst performers, which causes frustration for brokers trying to deliver consistently good service to customers.

Bolton added: “The main service challenges still revolve around ‘brilliant basics’ such as insurer responsiveness and claims service especially, which is particularly sensitive at the moment.  There is no doubt that staffing challenges remain, but they have eased, and the sector now needs to move forward, especially because the new Consumer Duty regulation has come into force with a strong focus on customer outcomes.”

One particularly positive note is that eTrading technology is now used daily by around seven in ten brokers, and while there are some issues to resolve around escalation and flexibility of quotes, brokers are positive that the technology can help them to be more efficient around standard product quotes, freeing up more time to focus on customers.

Trudgill concluded: “BIBA is very positive about the uptake of eTrading and sees a great opportunity for it to enable a better, more efficient offer for customers. Because of this we are looking to do more detailed research with Gracechurch and our technology partners including Polaris, to get a better handle on how to optimise eTrading for the benefit of the whole market.”