Clearsurance publishes consumer data on insurance companies’ performance following 2017 hurricanes

In order to see how insurance companies performed following Hurricane Irma and Harvey, Clearsurance conducted consumer research on policyholders’ claims experiences following the 2017 storms.

After gathering 752 reviews from policyholders who had a claim from the 2017 hurricane season, Clearsurance published its findings that consumers rated their experiences with national insurance companies significantly higher than policyholders with local insurance companies (categorized as insurers selling in five or fewer states).

One of the biggest differences in how national insurance companies responded to claims compared to local insurers was their proactiveness in reaching out to their policyholders. Consumers reported more than 32 percent of national insurance companies made the first contact to their policyholder — before or after the hurricane hit — while just 17 percent of local insurance companies made the first contact.

When it came to the actual handling of the claim, national insurance companies held a statistically significant advantage over local insurance companies for consumer ratings in three different categories: overall handling of the claim, timeliness of the process and the appraisal of the damage. The only category where there wasn’t a statistical difference was the amount of payment for the damage, though national insurers still held the edge.

For a full breakdown of the data and analysis, read Clearsurance’s blog here.