Auto Express – July 30, 2019

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk SpecialIssue 63

22001199

DIDYOUKNOW?Policyholderswereleastsatisfiedwithhowwellinsurerskepttheminformed

duringtheclaimsprocess;easeofpurchasewasthebest-ratedcategory, followedbystafffriendliness.

PARTofthegiantBGLGroup,whichisalso

behindcomparethemarket.com,DialDirect

bundlesfreeRACbreakdowncoveragewith

itspolicies,butthisisn’tenoughtoraiseits

value-for-moneyscore.Consideringthat

we’reintheupperreachesofourrankings,

it’sdisappointingtoseeasecond-from-

bottomassessmentgiventothefriendliness

ondisplayduringtheclaimsprocess.So

whydoesitfeaturesohighlyinourtable?

Fewothercompanieswerejudgedtobe

soeasytopurchasefrom,whilethose

havingtoclaimsaytheyweregivena

goodamountofinformation.However,

awhopping40percentofcustomersstill

saidtheywouldn’trenewwithDialDirect.

STRONGscoresfromthePostOffice’s

insurancearm,withcustomersreporting

backonanumberofareasinwhichthefirm

impresses.Mostworthyofnotearethetwo

fourth-placerankingsforhowfriendlystaff

areduringtheclaimsprocess,andthevalue

formoneyofferedbythecompany’spolicies.

ButPostOfficeagentsneedtodobetter

whenitcomestokeepingyouinformed

ofwhat’shappeningwithyourclaim,while

theoverallsatisfactionfigurefortheclaims

processislow.Giventhatahighproportion

ofcustomerssaytheywouldn’trenewtheir

PostOfficepolicies,itseemsthefirmhas

somekeyareasofimprovementifitwants

toencouragemorerepeatbusiness.

PARToftheMarkerstudyGroupthatoperates

LancasterInsurance,AutoWindscreensand

acharter-jetfirm,Zenith(formerlyChaucer

Insurance)ispartofabroadportfolioof

companies,butthebrandiswellregarded

bycustomers.Buyingyourinsurancefrom

Zenithisn’tthelastwordinconvenience,

butthefirmoffersstrongvalueformoney

andhasafriendlyandhelpfulclaimsteam;

thislatteraspecthelpsZenithtakeasilver

medalfortheoverallclaimsexperience.

Almosthalfofpolicyholderssaythey

wouldn’treturn,soeitherrenewalquotes

areuncompetitive,orcustomersaredriven

tothebrandthroughcomparisonwebsites,

andarethereforemorelikelytoshoparound.

LAUNCHEDin2005withamemorablead

campaign,Sheila’sWheelsinjectedsome

funintotheinsurancemarketplace,butits

ownershipcanbetracedbacktoBain

Capital,whichhas£85billionworthof

assetsundermanagementandwas

co-foundedbyUSpoliticianMittRomney.

Whateveritsprovenance,Sheilas’Wheels

customersareahappylot,sayingthefirm

settlesclaimsquickly, providesastrong

telephoneserviceduringtheclaims

process,andoffersgoodvalueformoney.

Thepurchaseprocesscouldbesmoother,

andinformationcouldbemoreforthcoming

duringtheclaimsprocessbut,overall,

Sheilapostsastrongsetofresults.

86.55%

86.62%

86.66%

86.80%

9. Dial Direct


10. PostOffice


11. Zenith


12. Sheila’s Wheels

RATINGS

RATINGS

RATINGS

RATINGS

CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES

“IhavekeycarecoverandmadeaclaimafterIlostmykeys.They

senttheAAouttogivemeareplacementwithinthreedays.”

“Theclaimwasdealtwithtomysatisfaction,butitdraggedonabit

andIfelttheinsurershouldhavechasedtherepaircentremore.”

“Mywindscreenhadastonechip.Iphonedtoarrangearepair

anditwasdoneatmyhouseonadaythatsuitedme.”

“Everythingwentsmoothly,althoughtherepaircostsfromthe

approvedgarageseemedexcessive,anditwasquitefarfromme.”

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 60% NO 40%

Would yourenew

your current policy?

YES 63% NO 37%

Would yourenew

your current policy?

YES 57%NO43%

Would yourenew

your current policy?

YES 67%NO33%