Churn in the Insurance Industry - Survey Report 2019 (2024)

Don’t miss our 2022 Customer Churn in Insurance Industry Report!

The insurance industry is particularly challenged by customer churn. Traditional insurers must compete with disruptive new players offering innovative business models and rock-bottom premiums. To stay relevant in this tough market, insurers understand the need to work harder than ever to retain their customers. And the best place to start is with customer service.

A comprehensive survey was conducted to learn more about the drivers of customer churn due to insurance companies’ level of customer service, to discover when consumers are most likely to churn, and to gauge consumer sentiment about ways to improve customer loyalty.

Key Insights

The data shows that 39% of Americans who canceled a contract with a company in the previous 24 months cited customer service as the primary reason for cancellation. And 11% of them canceled insurance policies.

Key takeaways:

Churn is triggered by high customer effort:Customers canceled their contracts because companies wasted their time (31% waited too long to have their issue resolved), or because they had to call more than once (52%); other customers churned due to untrained or incompetent agents (29% thought the reps were rude or had a negative approach) or because of inferior self-service options (14%).

Need for improved customer retention strategies:While 50% of customers actively searched for an alternative insurer, an equal number churned passively, either because they were disengaged with the insurer’s services or because they heard about or were offered a better deal from a competitor.

Reactive retention strategies are ineffective:Despite the fact that 54% of the insurance companies tried to retain their customers after they canceled their contracts – usually by offering a discount or an apology – their efforts were largely unsuccessful.

Proactive efforts are key: Among those who churned following a negative service experience, 53% would have changed their mind if they had been offered a better service plan, and 38% would have stayed if they had believed that the insurer’s service would improve in the future.

Fallout from word of mouth: 68% of customers admitted sharing their disappointment about an insurance company’s level of service with others. 64% discussed the company negatively with friends, family or colleagues, 13% shared it on their social media channels, 18% posted on the company’s official social media channel or website, 13% shared it in an online forum, and 8% even discussed it with the media.

For full access to the 2019 Customer Churn in the Insurance Industry Survey Results, which includes deep dives into the data and eye-opening quotes directly from customers,download the comprehensive report now.

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Churn in the Insurance Industry - Survey Report 2019 (2024)

FAQs

Churn in the Insurance Industry - Survey Report 2019? ›

Churn is triggered by high customer effort: Customers canceled their contracts because companies wasted their time (31% waited too long to have their issue resolved), or because they had to call more than once (52%); other customers churned due to untrained or incompetent agents (29% thought the reps were rude or had a ...

What is the churn rate in insurance? ›

The churn rate is the indicator that allows you to calculate the loss of customers, users or subscribers that your business suffers over a given period of time. The attrition rate is widely used in Banking and Insurance, which are sectors that historically had very low attrition rates.

What is the average turnover rate in the insurance industry? ›

In the past 10 years, most insurance companies operated with roughly an 8-9% staff turnover rate, whereas now, it's more typical for companies to operate in the 12-15% range, with voluntary turnover spiking at more significant levels.

What is churning in the insurance industry? ›

Churning is the practice of an insurer replacing existing coverage with a new policy based on misrepresentations. (coverage with Carrier A is replaced with coverage from Carrier A).

What is the churn rate report? ›

The churn rate formula is: (Lost Customers ÷ Total Customers at the Start of Time Period) x 100. For example, if your business had 250 customers at the beginning of the month and lost 10 customers by the end, you would divide 10 by 250.

What is a churn model in insurance? ›

A churn model identifies the customers with a high likelihood of leaving the company. These customers cancel their contract, the policy, in order to benefit from better conditions (a lower premium) with another company.

What is a good churn rate? ›

For a subscription company, the average annual churn rate is 5-7%, and a 4% monthly churn rate is considered a good benchmark. However, the average churn rate for any business depends on the market and your industry, so keep reading to see industry benchmarks that can be used as a barometer for your business.

What is the standard turnover in insurance? ›

Standard Turnover: The standard turnover refers to the regular, expected level of income or revenue a business generates over a specified period, typically the twelve months immediately before the date of the damage.

What is the turnover of an insurance company? ›

Put simply, it's the gross amount of money your business brings in over a given period, before expenses and tax are deducted. A rising turnover is usually a good thing.

What is the retention rate of insurance companies? ›

The average retention rate for agencies is 84%, but the industry's top agencies maintain a retention rate of 93-95%. A sustained 5% improvement in your agency's customer retention doubles your profit in five years. Improving your retention rate doesn't have to be overly complicated.

Is churning illegal in insurance? ›

Life insurance churning and other types of insurance churning are illegal. However, it can sometimes be hard for prosecutors to prove why someone repeatedly changed insurance providers. If you can cast doubt on whether you violated the law, you shouldn't be convicted of a criminal offense.

Is churning of insurance policies unethical? ›

Twisting And Churning Insurance

Twisting and churning are two unethical practices in the insurance industry that can harm policyholders. Both practices can result in unnecessary costs for policyholders, as well as disruptions in coverage and loss of policy benefits.

What is fee churning in insurance? ›

In fee churning, a series of intermediaries take commissions through reinsurance agreements. The initial premium is reduced by repeated commissions until there is no longer money to pay claims. The company left to pay the claims is often a business the conspirators have set up to fail.

What is the KPI for churn rate? ›

Customer Churn Rate is a KPI used to measure customer attrition. It is calculated by dividing the number of customers who discontinue a service during a specified time period by the average total number of customers over that same time period.

What is the benchmark for churn rate? ›

Churn is bad but inevitable, so it's important to track and improve your churn rates over time. 5 - 7% annual churn is a great benchmark to aim for - if you're an established, mature SaaS company, primarily targeting the enterprise. If you're earlier-stage, or targeting SMBs, expect churn to be closer to 5% per month.

Is churn rate the same as turnover? ›

Turnover includes both voluntary and involuntary employee departures, while attrition refers to departures that are voluntary and/or “natural”—such as retirement or a position being discontinued. Employee churn is the total number of turnover and attrition cases combined.

What does a 20% churn rate mean? ›

The churn rate is a percentage of the number of people who discontinue their business with you over a given period. It also refers to the rate employees leave your company over a certain period.

How do you explain churn rate? ›

The churn rate, also known as the rate of attrition or customer churn, is the rate at which customers stop doing business with an entity. It is most commonly expressed as the percentage of service subscribers who discontinue their subscriptions within a given time period.

What does 5% churn mean? ›

The ideal churn rate for established businesses is around 5% to 7% in annual churn and less than 1% in monthly churn. So, if your SaaS company had 1,000 customers, this means you would only lose 50 customers per year or four to five customers per month.

What is churning in health insurance? ›

What is churn? Churn has nothing to do with milk and butter, but refers to a consumer's transition between different types of coverage and/or becoming uninsured. The term churn is often used because of the cyclical nature of moving between coverage sources or uninsurance.

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