Auto Express – July 30, 2019

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk SpecialIssue 59

22001199

DIDYOUKNOW?Theaverageproportionofcustomerswhosaidthey

wouldrenewtheircarinsurancepolicywiththesamecompanywas71percent.

FRENCHfirmAXAisoneofthebiggest

playersinthebusiness,buttakesahuge

tumblefrom2018’sDriverPowerrankings,

whenitwasratedthefifth-bestinsureron

themarket.What’scausedthatfallfrom

grace?Well,youweren’tthrilledin2018

abouthoweasyitwastobuycoverfromAXA,

andthatremainsthecasethisyear.And,for

2019’sscores,you’refarlesspleasedthan

youwereabouthowwellinformedthefirm

keepsyouduringtheclaimsprocess,andare

lesspoliteaboutthelengthoftimeittookto

settleyourclaim.Whilein201864percent

saidyouwouldrenewyourAXApolicy,that

figurerosebytwopercentthisyear,yetit’sstill

oneofthelowerproportionsinthissurvey.

THEUK’slargestinsurancecompany, anda

firmthatcantraceitsrootsbacktotheturn

ofthe18thcentury,Britishmultinational

Avivaalsosuffersabigdropinthisyear’s

rankings,evenifitsfallisn’tassharpas

AXA’s(itcame15thlastyear).Dragging

Aviva’sscoresdownisapurchasingprocess

yousayisanythingbutsimple,butit’snot

allbadnews:beingranked11thforoverall

friendlinessduringtheclaimsprocess

indicatesthatAvivaagentsdotheirbestto

helpwhenyoupickupthephoneinyourhour

ofneed.Thatmarkistempered,however,

byamid-tablerankingforthelengthoftime

ittakestosettleclaims,andonlyaso-so

scorefortheoverallclaimsexperience.

OURfirstriserinthe2019rankings,Bell

climbsfromits28th-placefinishlastyear,

postingamixedbagofresultsintheprocess.

Thefirm,previouslyknownasBellDirect,is

partoftheAdmiralinsurancegroupand

dedicatesitsservicestodriverswanting

‘blackbox’telematicsinsurancepolicies.

CharacterisinglifeasaBellcustomerisan

impressivetelephoneexperience,should

youneedtomakeaclaim,andthismarkis

bolsteredbyagenuinelyimpressivesecond

placeforhowwellinformedcustomersfeel

throughouttheclaimsprocess.Unfortunately,

you’renotsoldonhoweasyitistotakeout

coverwithBellinthefirstplace,whileother

firmsofferbettervalueformoney,yousay.

UKfirmSwintonclimbsfrom27thplacelast

year,withresultsthatindicateyourinitial

impressionsduringtheclaimsprocessare

good.That’sthankstoatop-fivemarkforthe

telephoneexperience,andadecentresult

forhowfriendlyagentsarethroughoutthe

claimsprocess.Butthisisn’tbackedup

elsewhereinthecustomerexperience.The

lowmarkforhowlongittakesSwintonto

settleyourclaimindicatesincidentsand

accidentsaremademorefrustratingbythe

timeittakestoreceiverecompense,while

valueformoneyisanotherareawhererivals

arejudgedbetter.Thisfeedbackisreflected

inthefactthatalmostathirdofyousaidyou

wouldn’trenewyourpolicywithSwinton.

85.12%

85.24%

85.54%

85.76%

25. AXA

24. Aviva


25. Bell


26. Swinton

RATINGS

RATINGS

RATINGS

RATINGS

CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES

“EverytimeIcalled,Ihadtowaitfor40minutesbeforesomeone

answered.IfIsentthefirmanE-mail,Isimplydidn’tgetareply.”

“Theclaimsandrepairteamshaddifferentviewsonhowtheclaim

shouldbehandled,whichmadeitdifficulttoorganisetherepair.”

“Imadeanon-faultclaimandBellarrangedformycartobe

repairedstraightaway.ItwasreallyeasyandIwaskeptinformed.”

“Swintonarrangedformycartoberepairedbyathirdparty.I’ve

beenchasingthemforthreeweeksbecausenoworkhasbeendone.”

50 1

50 1

50 1

50 1

OWNER’S

VIEW

OWNER’S

VIEW

OWNER’S

VIEW

OWNER’S

VIEW

Ease of purchase

(web &phone)

Telephone experiencewhen

making claim

Keeping youinformed when

claim is being assessed

Speed to settle claim

Friendlinessand helpfulness

during claim

Value formoney

Overall satisfaction with

claim process

Ease of purchase

(web &phone)

Telephone experiencewhen

making claim

Keeping youinformed when

claim is being assessed

Speed to settle claim

Friendlinessand helpfulness

during claim

Value formoney

Overall satisfaction with

claim process

Ease of purchase

(web &phone)

Telephone experiencewhen

making claim

Keeping youinformed when

claim is being assessed

Speed to settle claim

Friendlinessand helpfulness

during claim

Value formoney

Overall satisfaction with

claim process

Ease of purchase

(web &phone)

Telephone experiencewhen

making claim

Keeping youinformed when

claim is being assessed

Speed to settle claim

Friendlinessand helpfulness

during claim

Value formoney

Overall satisfaction with

claim process

Would yourenew

your current policy?

YES 66% NO 34%

Would yourenew

your current policy?

YES 73% NO 27%

Would yourenew

your current policy?

YES 74%NO26%

Would yourenew

your current policy?

YES 69%NO31%