Jump in E-Servicing Visits Represents Potential Cost Savings for Insurers
RESTON, VA, October 8, 2007 – Comscore (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the results of a study of online servicing of auto insurance policies, which revealed that e-servicing activity climbed 15 percent in the second quarter of 2007, more than twice the rate of growth in total visits to the auto insurer sites included in the analysis. E-servicing, which includes activities such as bill payment, viewing and changing coverage, adding or removing a driver, adding or removing a car, and changing an address, represents a potential time-savings for the customer and a cost-savings opportunity for auto insurers by reducing the need to have company personnel answer phone calls or enter data. The study compared the number of visits to five of the top auto insurer sites in Q2 2007 versus the same period in 2006.
Auto Insurance e-Servicing OverviewQ2 2007 vs. Q2 2006Total U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: Comscore, Inc.
Section of Auto Insurer Site
Total Visits (000)
Q2 2006
Q2 2007
Percent Change
Total Visits to Selected* Auto Insurance Sites
64,063
67,588
6%
e-Servicing
22,559
26,017
15%
Payments
10,387
10,988
Policy Management**
12,172
15,029
23%
*Sites included in analysis: Allstate.com, GEICO.com, Nationwide.com, Progressive.com, StateFarm.com** Policy management includes viewing and changing coverage, adding or removing a driver, adding or removing a car, and changing an address
The study showed that customers visited the sites included in this analysis 6 percent more often in Q2 2007 versus year ago, while their number of visits to the e-servicing sections of the sites grew 15 percent. Policy management e-servicing activities propelled much of the growth, with visits climbing 23 percent to these sections of the respective Web sites.
“Several auto insurers have invested heavily in online customer relationship management during the past year, expanding beyond basic services such as bill payment to more complex activities like changing coverage online,” said Kevin Levitt, vice president of Comscore Financial Solutions. “As these results show, customers are e-servicing in greater numbers, indicating that they appreciate the flexibility of having additional options for managing their policies.”
Direct Insurers Outperform Agent Insurers at Moving Customers Towards E-Servicing
Of the five insurers included in the study, the direct insurers (who sell policies primarily over the phone or online) were more effective than the agent insurers (who sell policies primarily through agents) at driving customers towards e-servicing online. At the direct insurer sites, 55 percent of visits to GEICO.com and 37 percent of visits to Progressive.com included e-servicing, while each of the three agent insurers saw less than a third of visits to their respective sites include e-servicing. This finding is consistent with data reported in Comscore’s 2007 Automobile Insurance Report (http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1376), which demonstrated that customers who originally purchased their policy directly (over the phone or the internet), as opposed to through an agent, were more than twice as likely to have logged on to their auto insurance company’s website to view or manage their policy.
Auto Insurer E-Servicing OverviewQ2 2007Total U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: Comscore, Inc.
Auto Insurer Site
e-Servicing Visits
(000)
Total Site Visits
e-Servicing Visits as a Percentage of Total Visits
GEICO.com
11,735
21,526
55%
Progressive.com
6,315
17,158
37%
StateFarm.com
3,096
9,307
33%
Allstate.com
3,889
15,146
26%
Nationwide.com
985
4,451
22%
“GEICO has clearly been effective at driving customers to utilize e-servicing options,” continued Mr. Levitt. “Given the competitive nature of the auto insurance industry, it’s imperative to find ways to both reduce costs and satisfy customers. E-servicing can be a key ingredient in accomplishing both of these objectives.”
For more information about online auto insurance servicing, please contact Comscore Auto Insurance Solutions at http://www.comscore.com/contact or 703-438-2384.
About Comscore Auto Insurance Solutions
Comscore Auto Insurance Solutions provides insight into both online quoting and online servicing activity. Comscore’s products include competitive benchmarking, source of traffic analyses, abandonment studies, site usage analyses, search marketing, audience profiling and segmentation, surveys and online focus groups, and advertising effectiveness.
About ComscoreComscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given Comscore permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. Comscore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, Comscore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. Comscore analysts apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. Comscore services are used by more than 700 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Verizon, ViaMichelin, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.
PressBill DaddiDaddi Brand Communications646-370-1341press@comscore.com