Effective Customer Contact Strategies Improve Policyholder Retention Rates and Reduce Claims

January 1, 2011 / 2 min read

Study by auto insurance analyst firm underscores importance of instituting scientific methodology to determine focus of customer retention efforts and identify customers worth retaining

SAN FRANCISCO, March 13, 2012 — Quality Planning, a company that validates policyholder information for auto insurers, has published findings from a recent study conducted to determine the influence of customer contact programs on policyholder retention. The study, “Customer Contact Analytics New Fuel for Bottom-Line Growth,” now available at www.qualityplanning.com, finds that optimized customer retention efforts can both retain more customers and lower claims — effectively contributing to an insurer’s bottom line. Quality Planning is a member of the Verisk Insurance Solutions group at Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK).

Study highlights:

Retention rates are higher for those customers who were successfully contacted compared with those who could not be reached.
A successful phone contact can lead to reduction in claims in the following year.
Customers who appear to actively avoid contact with their insurer are probably not profitable customers.
Recent advances in analytic tools and data mean it’s now possible to develop scoring models to segment a book of business based on “risk of flight” (nonrenewal) and profitability.
Insurers that have already instituted programs to combat premium leakage are well positioned to target the right policyholders for customer retention programs.

“Insurers understand that maintaining regular and effective contact with customers is the right thing to do, but many do not have a scientific basis for selecting which customers to target,” said Dr. Raj Bhat, president of Quality Planning. “This study underscores the importance of implementing broad and deep policyholder analytics that enable the insurer to understand which customers are more valuable and likely to stay and separate them from those who appear to be profitable but will likely cancel their policy regardless of the steps an insurer takes to keep them.”

About Verisk Analytics
Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK) is a leading provider of information about risk to professionals in insurance, healthcare, mortgage, government, and risk management. Using advanced technologies to collect and analyze billions of records, Verisk Analytics draws on vast industry expertise and unique proprietary data sets to provide predictive analytics and decision-support solutions in fraud prevention, actuarial science, insurance coverages, fire protection, catastrophe and weather risk, data management, and many other fields. In the United States and around the world, Verisk Analytics helps customers protect people, property, and financial assets. For more information, visit www.verisk.com.

About Quality Planning
Quality Planning is focused on providing rating integrity solutions to auto and home insurers. A member of the Verisk Insurance Solutions group at Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK), Quality Planning works with insurance companies to identify areas of significant rating error using sophisticated database management, statistical analysis and modeling, customized survey design, and highly targeted customer interaction. Quality Planning helps clients work within their existing rating plans and charge fair prices to policyholders based on a true representation of risk. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in San Francisco.

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Contact:

Tim Cox
ZingPR
650-369-7784
tim@zingpr.com