Homeowners, believing they are getting a better value and more discounts on coverage for their properties, reported the greatest level of satisfaction with their homeowners’ insurance company in the last five years, according to a new study.

Overall satisfaction with homeowners insurance companies averages 773 on a 1,000-point scale in 2009—increasing by 21 points from 2008, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 National Homeowners Insurance Study. The annual study, in its ninth year, examines customer satisfaction with homeowners insurance companies based on perceptions regarding policy offerings, price, billing and payment, interaction and claims.

Researchers said the overall increase is primarily attributable to substantial improvements in the price, policy offerings and billing and payment factors. In particular, satisfaction with price has improved most notably—increasing by 46 points from 2008.

Contributing further to improved perceptions of policy value are shifts in the perceived prevalence of discounts. The percentage of policyholders who report receiving discounts has increased in 2009 to 84% from 81% in 2008.

Of the 27 insurance companies included in the study, 10 have experienced notable increases from 2008 in the proportion of their customers who report getting discounts, the study found. Policyholders who receive discounts are significantly more satisfied than those who either do not receive discounts or are unsure of the discounts they receive.

“To maximize the lift in satisfaction that discounts may bring, insurance companies must clearly inform customers of the number and types of discounts they are receiving,” said Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “Even if a customer’s policy doesn’t change, satisfaction may improve by more than 90 points when they’re informed of the discounts they qualify for and are getting, compared with when they have no awareness of the discounts.”

Amica Mutual ranks highest for an eighth consecutive year among homeowners insurance companies, performing particularly well in all five factors that contribute to overall customer satisfaction. Following Amica in the rankings are Auto-Owners, Erie Insurance and State Farm. USAA, an insurance provider open only to U.S. military personnel and their families and therefore not included in the rankings, also achieves a high level of customer satisfaction.

The study reported that more than eight in 10 customers report bundling multiple policies with their homeowners insurance company. Satisfaction with insurance companies’ policy offerings increases with each additional policy purchased, with satisfaction averaging more than 170 points higher among customers with four or more policies with their insurer, compared with customers who hold only a homeowners policy with their insurance company.

“Keeping homeowners insurance customers well satisfied may pay dividends, as these customers are very likely to purchase additional insurance policies and other financial products from their insurer,” said Bowler.

The study also determined that making improvements in overall satisfaction may have a strong positive impact on renewal and recommendation rates. For example, improving overall satisfaction from an average of 750 to 800 may result in a 10-15 percentage-point increase in the proportion of customers who say they “definitely will” renew their policies. Similarly, this improvement in satisfaction may also result in a 10-15 percentage-point improvement in the number of customers who say they “definitely will” recommend their insurer to others.

The 2009 National Homeowners Insurance Study is based on responses from more than 12,900 homeowners’ insurance customers. Contacted between April and June.