Agents’ satisfaction with personal property-casualty insurance companies falls greatly when they are not notified quickly of a customer-filed claim.

When agents are notified on the same day that a claim is filed by a customer, satisfaction averages 781 on a 1,000-point scale, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Insurance Agency Satisfaction Study. The study, performed in November 2008, is based on responses from 1,589 insurance agents evaluating more than 10 insurance companies across the industry, including AIG, Allied, Chubb, Erie Insurance, Farmers/Foremost, Fireman’s Fund, The Hartford, Liberty Mutual, Progressive and Travelers.

Researchers found that when notification takes place within one or two days, satisfaction declines to 724, on average. Satisfaction declines further, to an average of 638, when insurers wait more than five days before issuing notification.

“It is clear that consumer satisfaction increases dramatically when the agent is involved in the claims process,” said Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates, in a statement. “However, it often falls to the insurers to notify their agents of a customer-filed claim in a timely manner in order to help agents be successful in satisfying their customers.”

The inaugural study measures the satisfaction of independent insurance agents and agency staff with the personal property-casualty insurance companies they represent. Agent satisfaction is examined across six factors. In order of importance, they are: key carrier contacts (32%), policy offering (23%); claims (16%); technology (13%); price (10%); and compensation (5%). “Although it may seem that compensation would be the primary driver of agent satisfaction, in fact, elements that are related to agent support and products are the key differentiators,” said Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “Insurers that provide helpful and knowledgeable business contacts and provide a variety of policy offerings help to better meet the needs of consumers, which leads to greater levels of satisfaction among agents.”

The study finds that agent satisfaction typically increases the more often agents interact with the business contact from their insurance company. Agents prefer to receive business contacts via phone or e-mail at least once or twice a month. However, satisfaction levels are particularly high when the business contact visits more than once per month. In 2009, fewer than 15% of agents report receiving such frequent visits.

“Contacting agents on a regular basis to provide support is critical for an insurance company, particularly when it comes to business growth,” Bowler said. “Agent satisfaction is very closely linked to the overall business growth of an insurer, as agents have tremendous influence over policyholders when it comes to switching providers. In fact, 60% of consumers report that they would follow their agent recommendation to switch to a new insurance company. Clearly, agent satisfaction can have a major impact on policy growth for an insurance company.”

In particular, as agent satisfaction increases, the likelihood of agents increasing their premium business with an insurance company also rises. In 2009, nearly 70% of agents with satisfaction scores averaging more than 800 points indicate they intend to increase business with the insurance company. In contrast, only 28% of agents with scores averaging 600 points or less indicate the same.

Offering a marketing or advertising budget also greatly impacts agent satisfaction, according to the study. In 2009, nearly 60% of agents report that they did not receive any budget for local marketing or advertising. However, among those agents who received and used all of the funds provided by the insurer for advertising and marketing purposes, satisfaction scores average 808, compared with an average of 692 among those agents who were offered no funds for such endeavors.