Insurance customers’ assessment of service quality: a critical evaluation

Increased competition from their traditionally, “non‐insurance” partners in the financial services industry has forced “insurance only” companies to enter areas once considered exclusively part of the financial services market. The melding of the insurance, banking, and brokerage industries into one composite financial service industry has created confusion in the minds of many customers who were once able to delineate neatly company product lines. In order to remain competitive in a deregulated industry that has more or less encroached on all financial service providers, insurance companies and their sales representatives have had to reevaluate their traditional methods of attracting and keeping customers. To be successful in this endeavor, agents must take a closer look at just how they treat their customers. Therefore, examines a model proposed as an instrument to assess some of the possible determinants of customer loyalty. The model is based on agents’ ability to deliver on factors related to service quality. The measurement scale used in the study is based on the importance/performance paradigm. The results, somewhat surprisingly, indicate that respondents believe their individual agent is performing at an above average level. Provides conclusions and recommendations.