Accenture: Most Customers Unhappy With Carriers

Despite low satisfaction levels with life insurers, survey participants were less likely to switch life insurers than to change most other types of providers.

But the low switch rates appear to be due to many consumers' perception that they are "locked in," with 29% of life insurance customers telling Accenture they are discouraged by the inconvenience of switching providers.

Only 12% of the life customers said they are thinking about buying more products and services from life providers, and 10% said they are thinking about buying fewer products and services from life providers.

When asked to rate what they like about their current life insurance providers, 32% of the respondents selected "trustworthiness," and 28% selected a "skilled workforce aware of their needs."

"What we're witnessing today is a shift among carriers from a product-push strategy to a more segmented life-event or life stage-driven demand that will require more educated interactions with buyers," says David Shatto, managing director of Accenture's U.S. life practice. "There are implications for a more targeted selling, marketing and product-delivery in term of how producer performance is tracked and measured; and in terms of how producers interact with buyers."