Season 3 Episode 16
Inside J.D. Power’s Latest Auto Insurance Research with Stephen Crewdson

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Episode Summary

In this episode of The Marketing Rapport, host Tim Finnigan sits down with Stephen Crewdson, Managing Director at J.D. Power. They explore how consumer expectations, not just price, drive choices in today’s auto insurance market. Stephen draws on years of research to show that while advertising builds brand awareness, it’s the promise of good service and a smooth experience that moves shoppers further down the funnel.

Stephen explains how younger, price-sensitive consumers now shop more than ever, using digital tools to compare quotes and switch providers. But the conversation goes deeper, highlighting a surprising trend: even high-value, long-term customers feel less loyal today. Many insurers miss the mark by offering extra products to the wrong customers and failing to reward their best ones.

Looking ahead, Stephen emphasizes the need for insurers to deliver seamless experiences across every channel and communicate policies more clearly. The episode closes with a call for better personalization and a sharper focus on building lasting customer relationships.

Guest-at-a-Glance

Key Insights

• Service Expectations Drive Insurance Choices More Than Price
  Consumers shopping for auto insurance may start by noticing ads, but what truly sways their decision is their expectation of the service they’ll receive. Once shoppers move past basic awareness, they choose which brands to consider and request quotes from based on how easy and helpful they expect the process to be—not just on cost. This means insurers that want to win new business must focus on the total customer experience, from quoting to claims, across every channel. Price remains important, especially for younger buyers, but it’s the promise of reliable, simple, and supportive service that nudges a shopper to take action. Building positive perceptions about service quality and delivering on those expectations is now the clearest path to earning and keeping customer trust.

• Seamless Cross-Channel Experiences Are Essential for Satisfaction
  Customers today interact with insurers through multiple channels—websites, mobile apps, call centers, and agents. They expect a smooth, unified experience regardless of how they make contact. When customers face disconnected service, like repeating their information multiple times or receiving inconsistent answers from different channels, frustration grows fast. Research shows that seamless cross-channel experiences now matter more to customer satisfaction than any other factor measured in the past 25 years. Insurers who close these gaps will build stronger relationships, reduce churn, and stand out in a competitive market. Clear communication and consistent support across all touchpoints are no longer optional—they’re central to meeting modern customer needs.

• Personalization Gaps Threaten Retention of High-Value Customers
  Many insurers focus on winning and keeping high-value customers—those with multiple policies and long histories. Yet, these customers often get the same service as everyone else, or sometimes even less attention than newer, lower-value shoppers. This misalignment means insurers miss opportunities to deepen loyalty with their best customers. Instead of generic offers, insurers should identify high-value customers early and tailor communications, service, and product recommendations to their needs. Borrowing strategies from other industries, like special perks or exclusive support, helps these customers feel recognized and valued. Failing to personalize the experience risks eroding loyalty and may drive even the most profitable customers to consider switching providers.

Episode Highlights

The Origins and Evolution of J.D. Power’s Insurance Research
Timestamp: ~ 00:02:19 – 00:03:58
J.D. Power’s approach to insurance market research has evolved from humble beginnings to a major force in customer insight. The company started with a single auto insurance study and has expanded over 25 years to conduct research across auto, home, life, and annuities, gathering data from hundreds of thousands of consumers annually. This rigorous focus on the “voice of the customer” underpins their reputation and influence. The scale and independence of their research help drive better service across the insurance industry, with insights sought by carriers aiming to improve customer experience and retention.

“So everything I’m talking about today comes from the consumer. It’s the voice of the customer. At J.D. Power, it doesn’t matter what our opinions are of any of the companies we’re evaluating. It’s what the consumer says…over the years, our brand’s recognized by over 90% of US consumers. It’s a very well recognized name by doing customer research to understand how companies can better provide an excellent service to their customers.”

Why Advertising Alone Won’t Secure New Insurance Customers
Timestamp: ~ 00:08:05 – 00:10:31
Insurance carriers invest heavily in advertising to build brand awareness, but research shows this only gets them so far. While advertising can make a brand top-of-mind, it has limited influence once shoppers move deeper into the buying funnel. After awareness, shoppers focus less on marketing and more on expectations of service and ease. Brands that rely solely on ad spend risk losing out to those who deliver strong customer experiences across digital and human channels. High unaided awareness helps, but it’s no guarantee of conversion if the brand falls short on service or perceived value.

“The advertising spend is really top funnel…It may have a little bit of an impact on the next layer of the funnel, which is, do you consider this insurer? So it starts with, are you aware of the insurer?…Advertising is really impactful, obviously, for awareness. The brands that have spent the most over the years on advertising have much higher…unaided awareness levels…When we look at what drives purchase decisions, though, as a person moves through the acquisition funnel, the advertising has very little to do with which insurers they ultimately get quotes from.”

Younger Shoppers Are Driving a Surge in Insurance Switching
Timestamp: ~ 00:12:13 – 00:13:27
Recent trends show a spike in insurance shopping and switching activity, especially among younger and more price-sensitive customers. As insurance premiums rise, these shoppers are more likely to compare quotes online and are quick to switch providers for a better deal. Digital channels appeal to them, especially when their needs are straightforward. Insurers that want to capture this market must meet younger consumers where they are—through easy, digital quoting and binding experiences. Failure to do so risks missing out on this active, growing segment of the insurance market.

“The younger shopper today is a very…more price sensitive consumer…we’ve seen shopping spike in 2023, 2024, and very early the first quarter of this year, in fact, we saw the highest rate of shopping we’ve ever seen in our dataset. That is largely driven by younger consumers and consumers that are just generally more price sensitive…Overwhelmingly, the monoline auto customers…are really gravitating even more towards the digital channels to get their quotes, to bind their policy.”

The Value of Clear Policy Communication and Education
Timestamp: ~ 00:25:12 – 00:26:42
Many consumers struggle to understand their insurance policies, especially the details of coverage and limits. This lack of clarity leads to frustration, particularly when making claims, and can harm customer satisfaction scores. Carriers that make policy terms easier to understand and proactively educate customers stand to build stronger relationships and trust. In an environment where consumers pay more for coverage than ever, clear and simple communication is no longer optional—it’s essential for loyalty and retention.

“If there’s one thing we could change about the industry, I think if I had a magic wand, I would change the fact that people don’t really understand what they’re buying when they buy an auto insurance or homeowner’s insurance policy…while it’s very important, it’s so poorly understood that the value prop is hard for people to grasp that I’m paying so much for something I don’t understand and they really want insurers to help them understand it better.”

Top Quotes

[~00:00:00] Stephen Crewdson: “As you move down the funnel, you see that at the top of the funnel, advertising is important. But as you move down the funnel toward the middle— which brands you consider, which brands you get a quote from— the leading driver of converting through those layers of the funnel is the customer’s expectation of the service they’ll get from the insurer, even more so than price.”

[~00:09:18] Stephen Crewdson: “You really have to have top-of-mind awareness if you’re selling through direct channels or a captive agent. And the brands that are really spending the most have around half to two-thirds of recent shoppers have unaided awareness of those brands.”

[~00:14:23] Stephen Crewdson: “The 35% is of the people who shopped, and almost 60% shopped. So you’re looking at something like almost 20% of all insurance customers have switched auto insurance. That 35% switch rate among shoppers, though, is a very high number.”

[~00:15:40] Stephen Crewdson: “Those customers tend to look like customers who have multiple policies, as you’d expect. They have fewer claims. They just represent a better, from a financial perspective, customer to the auto insurer. They’re hyper-focused on winning them and retaining them, but what our research shows is that when you walk through the purchase journey of different consumer groups, that higher-value customer is not getting a better experience through their purchase journey than a lower-value customer.”

[~00:23:34] Stephen Crewdson: “We had a big gap. We weren’t measuring this concept for 25 years, and when we measure it, all of a sudden it goes to the top of the list and by a three times margin. And that is providing seamless interactions across different channels.”

[~00:25:34] Stephen Crewdson: “Most consumers feel that they understand their policy. I would say a small majority feel that they understand their policy adequately. But when you ask them, could the insurer do a better job of explaining it than they currently have? We find that then most consumers admit, yeah, I don’t really quite understand my policy well enough.”