SMALL BUSINESSES 'SATISFIED': Small Business Commercial Insurance Customer Satisfaction Reaches Ail-Time High Thanks to Investments in Digital, Servicing and Product Expansion, J.D. Power Finds.

* COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Small business owners have never been more satisfied with their insurance providers, according to the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study[SM] released today.

The all-time high satisfaction score of 844 (on a 1,000-point scale) follows three years of stagnant satisfaction levels and is the result of insurance company investment in technology, servicing, product expansion and dedicated infra-structure designed to support small business customers.

"Insurers have focused on improving their approach to the small commercial market and it shows," said David Pieffer, Practice Lead, Property & Casualty Insurance Practice. "Technology has become an increasingly critical compo-nent in the small commercial insurance offering. Digital channels are now more influential than ever before in shaping commercial customer experiences and this will be an important area of focus moving forward as technology continues to evolve rapidly and more customers interact with their insurers via electronic channels."

The 2019 U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study is based on responses from 3,221 small commercial insurance customers. The study, now in its seventh year, examines overall customer satisfaction among small commercial insurance customers with 50 or fewer employees. Overall satisfaction is comprised of five factors (in order of importance): interaction; policy offerings; price; billing and payment; and claims. Satisfaction is calculated on a 1,000-point scale. The study was fielded in April-June 2019.

STUDY RANKINGS

Nationwide ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction with a score of 868...