Imagine the pain of slamming your hand in a car door.
It hurts just to think about it, right?
But that鈥檚 what one in five drivers say they would rather do than shop for auto insurance, according to a recent survey by insurer Esurance.
It shows that buying auto insurance can be a surprisingly painful process.
鈥淪lamming your hand in a car door is pretty extreme, and undeniably painful,鈥� said Jonathan Adkisson of Esurance in discussing the results of the survey, which comprised 2,000 respondents. 鈥淣o one should ever prefer that experience to shopping for insurance, which should be easy, efficient, and ultimately leave you feeling confident you and your family are properly protected.鈥�
But the study confirms there鈥檚 a lot of work to be done in the industry to address consumers鈥� major pain points, the company said, which include making shopping simple, transparent and affordable.
Following are a few of the survey findings:
Simplicity
鈥淚nsurance is inherently complicated and needs to be simplified,鈥� said Esurance. 鈥淏etween all the jargon, coverage options and fine print, it can be a frustrating process for many consumers to get through. And, while comparing rates and reviewing coverage options is an important part of shopping for insurance 鈥� this is an area customers really don鈥檛 enjoy 鈥� to say the least.鈥�
- More than 75 percent of customers multitask while dealing with insurance companies, including watching TV (45 percent), browsing social media (38 percent) and shopping online (30 percent).
- One in three shoppers of drinking age would rather have a cocktail than a calculator in hand when researching coverage options, 鈥渁 sign some people may be more concerned with just getting through the process rather than getting it right.鈥�
Transparency
鈥淭here鈥檚 a clear need for more transparency around coverages so people feel confident they鈥檙e properly protected,鈥� the insurer said. 鈥淐overage terms are confusing, and customers don鈥檛 always understand what they鈥檙e buying since policies can feel like reading gobbledygook.鈥�
- Nearly a third of consumers surveyed by Esurance said they would rather take a physics test than a test of their insurance knowledge.
- A majority of consumers (57 percent) turn to sources such as a spouse, their parents, friends or co-workers to help them understand something about their insurance.
Affordability
鈥淧rice is typically the top concern when it comes to purchasing insurance. Insurance is so essential some coverages are required by law, yet many don鈥檛 feel it鈥檚 valuable and want to be paying less.鈥�
- More than one-third of consumers don鈥檛 necessarily believe they get what they paid for 鈥� rating the value of insurance six out of 10 or lower on a 0-10 scale.
- Nearly 40 percent of consumers expressed dissatisfaction with their current rates or prices, rating their satisfaction at five out of 10 or lower on the 0-10 scale.
- Nearly 80 percent of those surveyed said not having coverage they need in an accident would be more terrifying than accidentally sending a snarky text to the person they were talking about.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been talking to a lot of customers and people shopping for insurance,鈥� Esurance says in a report on its website. 鈥淗ere鈥檚 what we鈥檝e heard loud and clear: No one likes dealing with insurance. It can feel complex, confusing and expensive. In other words, a real pain.鈥�
