A JD Power study finds rising costs are eroding consumer trust
of ConsumerAffairsStrong customer trust is associated with three times higher retention intent and a 2.6-times lower likelihood of shopping for another insurer.
Only 55% of homeowners say they fully understand their coverage, rising to 60% among customers contacted proactively by their insurer.
Amica ranked highest for homeowners insurance, while State Farm led the renters insurance segment.
People who want to buy homes especially first-time buyers are facing growing affordability issues due to high home prices and rising mortgage rates. Homeowners insurance costs are also making affordability a problem.
A new JD Power study found rising premiums required insurance companies to step up their game, making trust, clear communication, and seamless service increasingly important to policyholder retention.
Customers reporting high levels of trust in their insurer were three times more likely to intend to stay and 2.6 times less likely to shop for another provider, JD Power said.
The study also found a wide satisfaction gap based on the quality and consistency of the customer experience. Overall satisfaction reached 794 on a 1,000-point scale among customers who strongly agreed that their experience was seamless, compared with 384 among those who strongly disagreed.
Among customers who did not consider their experience seamless, one-quarter said they received different or conflicting answers from separate sources.
Part of the affordability problem
Homeowners are dealing with a broader affordability problem, not just an insurance premium problem, Craig Martin, executive director of insurance intelligence at JD Power, said in the release.
Martin said insurers can strengthen retention by explaining changes early, simplifying service, and helping policyholders understand the value of their coverage.
Policy comprehension remains a persistent challenge. Only 55% of homeowners said they completely understand what their policy covers, a figure JD Power said has remained within a three-percentage-point range for six years.
Proactive communication appears to improve that understanding. The share of customers reporting complete knowledge of their coverage rose to 60% among those contacted by their insurer, compared with 48% among customers who had no carrier contact during the previous 12 months.
Communication channels also performed better when customers found them both easy to use and effective. In those cases, 95% said they intended to use the channel again.
Amica wins again
Amica ranked first in the homeowners insurance segment for the second consecutive year, scoring 680. Erie Insurance followed with 678, while Chubb placed third with 676.
State Farm led the renters insurance rankings with a score of 702, followed by Erie Insurance at 692, and Amica at 689.
The annual study measures satisfaction across seven areas: product and coverage offerings, problem resolution, digital channels, people, price for coverage, trust, and ease of doing business.
JD Power based its 2026 findings on online responses from 17,191 homeowners and renters collected between July 2025 and July 2026.
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Posted: 2026-09-15 12:53:16
