Most people don’t think about their insurer when they pay premiums. They think about them when their car is totaled, their house burns down, or a hospital bill arrives.
In that moment, “insurance” is no longer paperwork—it’s trust embodied in a payment.
The irony? The best claims experience feels uneventful. Seamless. Almost boring. Because if customers are talking about the claim, it usually means something went wrong.
Insurance is the rare product where silence equals success.
👉 What other industries deliver their best experience when you barely notice it?
When a claim event — a car accident, a fire, medical emergency — happens, the relationship between policyholder and insurer reaches a critical juncture. The insurer is no longer background; it becomes frontline. This is the moment that defines loyalty, perception, and ultimately the value of the product.
Research shows that trust is the single largest driver of satisfaction in an insurance claims context. For example: In a recent study by J.D. Power, auto-insurance customers who reported the highest level of trust in their insurer averaged a satisfaction score of 917 (out of 1,000), whereas those with the lowest level of trust had scores more than 400 points lower. Carrier Management
Put simply: people don’t remember the premium process. They remember what happens when the disaster hits.
A flawless claim builds loyalty 💙
A painful one breaks trust 💔
Unlike most everyday services (buying coffee, streaming music), claims are rare, infrequent events for customers. Yet they carry high emotional and financial significance. The insurer is required to deliver when the customer is vulnerable.
In many industries you feel the service: you talk about the hotel check-in, the flight upgrade, or the restaurant’s ambiance. In insurance, the ideal is the opposite: the smoother the experience, the less you notice. A claim handled cleanly becomes invisible; something you barely remember. If you do remember, something likely went wrong.
Insurance claims involve complex processes: verifying facts, assessing damage, coordinating repair or payment, navigating policy wording. Yet customers expect minimal friction. According to a McKinsey article: “Products need to be simplified and transparent… the inherent complexity of insurance products requires a more deliberate effort from insurers.” McKinsey & Company
They don’t think about:
policy wording 📝
premium calculations 💸
claims systems or adjusters 🧑💼
They think about:
“Did my insurer show up?”
Insurance isn't bought for peace of mind — it's proven in moments of panic.
When claims go well, insurers win. When they don’t, they pay more than in indemnity.
One study found that 41 % of policyholders switch carriers after one claim — and that number jumps to 83 % if they are dissatisfied with the claims experience. Hi Marley
On the flip side: In the auto insurance sector, average satisfaction with digital claims processing (auto & home) recently rose to 871/1,000 — up 17 points year-on-year, per J.D. Power. insuranceindustryblog.iii.org
However: Satisfaction in property claims (homeowners) recently hit a 7-year low, amid rising repair delays and catastrophic events. insuranceclaimrecoverysupport.com
So, it’s clear: beyond paying out fairly, the experience around the payout matters just as much.
A smooth claim = retained customer ✅ A messy claim = viral complaint ❌
Here are key levers insurers (and other industries) must get right if they want to make the claims (or equivalent) moment truly “invisible”.
There’s a direct correlation between timeliness and satisfaction. One study found top-performing claims adjusters closed claims 10% faster than the lowest performers, and made “first contact” in hours rather than days. AgentSync
Simplify the steps. Make the journey seamless.
A major reason customers call or complain: they don’t know what’s happening with their claim. According to the 2024 J.D. Power auto claims study, communication is one of eight key dimensions. jdpower.com
This is about more than legal compliance. It’s about perception. Did you feel you were treated fairly? Did you understand what was happening, why, and how the outcome was reached?
When trust is high, satisfaction rises even in high-premium environments. Carrier Management
Today’s customers expect digital-first but without losing human support when needed. The rise in digital claims satisfaction reflects that. insuranceindustryblog.iii.org+1
Make the digital easy; make the human meaningful.
If we step back, the insight is broader: the best experience often happens when you barely notice it. What other industries share this characteristic? A few examples:
💳 Payments / Banking: When your mobile payment works without friction, you don’t think about it. When a payment fails, you do.
⚡🌐 Utilities / Internet Service: You pay your internet provider and expect “it works”. It becomes noticed only when it doesn’t.
🧳 Air travel baggage handling: You don’t notice your bags arriving; you do when they’re lost or delayed.
In each case, the premium or service is a background promise. The moment of truth is in the delivery—and when it goes smoothly, there’s no story. When it doesn’t, the story becomes your story.
You only notice them when they fail.
The best experience is often the invisible one.
Premiums are invisible; claims are not. Set internal focus accordingly.
The claims moment is when brand promises are validated (or broken). Prioritize process design for that moment.
Investing in a superior claim experience pays dividends: lower churn, higher trust, stronger retention.
Digital tools matter—but digital alone won’t solve the emotional dimension of claims. Communications, empathy, clarity matter.
Don’t aim for “impressive”. Aim for unnoticeable. A claim handled so well the customer barely remembers having to make it is a win.
Regularly review and measure claims experience: speed, satisfaction, trust. Understand where friction happens.
For most of their lives, policyholders ignore their insurer. But when disaster strikes, they remember. The claim is the moment when insurance switches from “just a policy” to “something that matters.”
In that moment of truth, an insurer isn’t selling a product; it’s delivering on a promise.
When everything works right: the experience is practically invisible.
When it doesn’t: it becomes the protagonist of the customer’s story.
If you’re working in insurance (or servicing any industry where infrequent but critical events matter), ask this question: are we designing for silence? Because in the claims world, silence is success.
So a couple of famous last words from me: Insurance isn't a product.
It’s a promise whispered at purchase and heard loudest in crisis.
When customers barely notice the claim,
you’ve done your job perfectly. 😍