Despite challenges, overall satisfaction with auto insurers in Ontario and Alberta is 82%: RATESDOTCA Annual Best Auto Insurance Study

Despite the many challenges the auto insurance industry has endured, from the auto theft crisis to rising repair costs, consumers in Ontario and Alberta still report high levels of satisfaction and trust in their insurers, according to the results of the RATESDOTCA Annual Best Auto Insurance Study.

Conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights, the study, the largest of its kind in Canada, measures consumer perceptions and experiences with their auto insurers – identified by policy number – in Ontario and Alberta. Overall satisfaction with auto insurance companies is 82%, improving by 2 percentage points YoY in 2024, with 76% reporting that they believe their insurance company is a trustworthy brand. Top-ranking carriers, including CAA Insurance Company, Gore Mutual Insurance, Intact Insurance, Northbridge Insurance and Wawanesa Insurance earned high levels of satisfaction in many, if not all, of the measured categories: Best Overall, Most Trustworthy, Best Auto Claims Experience, Best Policy Documents and Best Billing Statements.

More than ever, maintaining consumer trust is imperative for insurers. The results of the study show that, on balance, the auto insurance industry is doing a good job of maintaining strong relationships with customers during very difficult times. The study also provided key insights into digital interactions, communications preferences, age and overall satisfaction and usage-based insurance uptake.

The insurance industry lags behind comparative industries in digital interactions with consumers. When 94% of Canadians are going online for personal use and 82% of those users conducting banking online, the number of survey respondents overall reporting using digital portals to file claims is strikingly low, at 3% using online apps and 2% using digital portals. While many in the insurance industry would justifiably claim this is due to customer preference, it may also be that, as a whole, the industry has not invested in building digital tools that work well enough for the consumer to trust when filing a claim.

While the majority of survey respondents overall preferred phone communications with their insurance company, the study shows an age divide between those that prefer a phone call to those that prefer digital communication. Older cohorts prefer phone calls, while younger cohorts show a preference for digital communications. While phone calls may be the primary preference for all age groups now, we only need to look to the U.S. to see a different future. Customer satisfaction with home and auto insurance digital claims experience in the U.S. rose 17 points in 2024, and customer satisfaction scores were highest when insurer mobile apps were used to report a claim.

Regardless, it’s important to communicate through a customer’s preferred channel. Overall satisfaction with insurance companies is 85% amongst those who communicated using their channel of choice vs. 70% for those who did not.  Those who communicated with a live person are slightly more satisfied with their insurance company overall than those who communicated by messages via app/website or email.

The study also showed that age plays a role in overall satisfaction. Older customers assign higher performance ratings across all aspects of service than younger cohorts. This includes: service provided by representatives, timely claims resolution, and communications around payments. This demarcation also applies to overall satisfaction with premium price and value for cost, with older cohorts generally more satisfied than younger.

Those with UBI policies are more satisfied with their insurers and report higher levels of satisfaction with their insurance companies (89% versus 81%) than those without UBI policies. We also found that although 60% of customers say they are at least somewhat familiar with UBI, very few currently have a UBI policy, and only 28% are likely to consider it for their next policy with a discount of at least 5%. Though younger cohorts are more familiar with UBI, older UBI policyholders are more likely to continue using a UBI policy.

More challenges for the auto insurance industry certainly lie ahead in 2025. By maintaining focus on the customer experience, insurers can maintain high levels of trust and satisfaction with the most important aspect of their business – the consumer.