The cost-of-living crisis is causing consumers to want claims paid faster and to feel more in control during the claims process, according to the findings of the latest Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) Public Trust Index.
The quarterly index, which gathers insight from consumers and SMEs about their experience of buying, renewing and claiming on insurance products, reveals that the speed of claims rose from the seventh-highest priority for consumers in July 2021 to the third-highest priority in July 2022.
Control over the claims process has moved from ninth-highest priority to the sixth-highest priority during the same period.
Dr Matthew Connell, director of policy and public affairs at the CII, said: “The last time consumers felt this strongly was during lockdown in May 2020. Consumers do rate the value of the premiums they are paying as important, but quality of complaints handling and the clarity on policy wording are rated higher.
“With the FCA’s measures on renewal premiums in place for less than a year, the Public Trust Index shows this is an area of greatest dissatisfaction. It’s likely consumers feel that they should be rewarded for their loyalty, not penalised and put at a financial disadvantage.”
