Press Release Headlines

USAA and State Farm Set the Bar for Customer Experience in the Insurance Industry, Reports Latest Temkin Group Research

Third Annual Temkin Experience Ratings Evaluates 246 Companies Across 19 Industries

WABAN, Mass., March 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Based on a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, USAA and State Farm earned the top spots in the insurance sector of the 2013 Temkin Experience Ratings. At the other end of the spectrum, 21st Century and Liberty Mutual were the lowest rated insurers. The insurance industry is tied for sixth out of 19 industries and has made steady improvements in its ratings over the last three years.

"USAA and State Farm set the bar for good customer experience in the insurance industry, but the entire sector is improving," states Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.

The Temkin Experience Ratings evaluates three areas of customer experience: functional (can customers do what they want to do), accessible (how easy it is to work with the company), and emotional (how consumers feel about their interactions).

The 2013 Temkin Experience Ratings includes 14 insurance carriers: 21st Century, AAA, Allstate, American Family, Farmers, GEICO, Liberty Mutual, MetLife, Nationwide, Progressive, State Farm, The Hartford, Travelers, and USAA.

Here are some additional findings from the research:

  • The industry has been steadily improving over the last three years, from an average rating of 58.5% in 2011 to 65.0% in 2013.
  • USAA is the highest-ranked insurance company at 71% and State Farm is second with a rating of 73%.  These are the only two insurers with "good" ratings. Nationwide is in third place at 68%.
  • USAA earned the top marks across all three components, functional, accessible, and emotional, and State Farm earned the second highest marks across all three areas.
  • 21st Century earned the last place in the industry with a rating of 49%. The insurer earned the lowest marks across all three components, functional, accessible, and emotional.
  • Liberty Mutual is in next-to-last place with a rating of 56%.
  • Travelers improved the most between 2012 and 2013, gaining six percentage points. Next on the list, MetLife and USAA improved by four percentage points.
  • The Hartford and 21st Century had the largest decline from 2012, losing seven percentage points.

The 2013 Temkin Experience Ratings along with other ratings can be accessed at the Temkin Ratings website, www.TemkinRatings.com.

The report "2013 Temkin Experience Ratings" can be downloaded for free from the Customer Experience Matters® blog, at ExperienceMatters.wordpress.com as well as from the Temkin Group website, www.TemkinGroup.com.

About Temkin Group: Temkin Group is widely recognized as a leading customer experience research and consulting firm. Many of the world's largest brands rely on its insights and advice to steer their transformational journeys. Temkin Group combines customer experience thought leadership with a deep understanding of the dynamics of organizations to help accelerate results. Rather than layering on cosmetic changes, Temkin Group helps companies embed practices within their culture by building four critical competencies: Purposeful Leadership, Employee Engagement, Compelling Brand Values, and Customer Connectedness. The firm's ongoing research identifies leading and emerging best practices across a wide range of activities for engaging the hearts and minds of customers, employees, and partners. For more information, contact Bruce Temkin at 617-916-2075 or send an email.

About Bruce Temkin: Bruce Temkin is widely recognized as a customer experience thought leader and is Customer Experience Transformist and Managing Partner of Temkin Group. He is also the author of a very popular blog, Customer Experience Matters® (ExperienceMatters.wordpress.com). Prior to forming Temkin Group, he was a VP at Forrester Research for 12 years. Bruce is a highly demanded speaker who consistently receives high marks for his content-rich, entertaining keynote addresses. He is also the co-founder and Chair of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA.org), a global non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of customer experience management.

Customer experience matters is a registered trademark of Temkin Group.