A key indicator of customer satisfaction with the life insurance sector edged up in the third quarter, new research shows.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), an independent benchmark of customer satisfaction, is based on a survey of 70,000 customers about the products and services they use the most. The research results are used to determine customer satisfaction with more than 230 companies, 43 industries and 10 economic sectors, as well as more than 100 services, programs and websites of federal government agencies.
The ACSI score for the life insurance sector gained for a second consecutive year, increasing 2.4 percent to an ACSI benchmark of 83, a level above that of the national ACSI aggregate score.
The report adds that small life insurance companies performed better than large insurers in the survey. The aggregate score for small insurers (among them John Hancock and Lincoln Financial) increased 3 percent to an ACSI benchmark of 83.
Customer satisfaction with New York Life tops the large companies: ACSI pegs the company's score at 80 — unchanged for the third consecutive year. Northwestern Mutual, Prudential and Metlife, received lower scores, each declining one percent to 78, 78 and 77, respectively.
