Safety Insurance earns #3 National Ranking in Deep Customer Connections, Inc.'s Ease of Doing Business
Deep Customer Connections, Inc. Announces the 2008 Top Ten Ease of Doing Business Performers
ACTON, Mass. (October 13, 2008) - More than 7,400 independent agents and brokers assessed the performance of over 250 property and casualty carriers in Deep Customer Connections, Inc.’s (DCC) 6th annual Ease of Doing Business (EDB) survey. DCC is proud to present the top performers in the industry.
West Bend Mutual Insurance of Wisconsin earned the #1 spot in this year’s industry-wide Ease of Doing Business Index® ratings. The EDB Index® gauges a carrier’s performance against what independent agents rate as most important when choosing a carrier to write business with. In addition to capturing the overall top spot, West Bend Mutual earned a “Top Ten” status in each of the eleven Ease of Doing Business (EDB) Factors with #1 rankings on two factors-“policy services” and “marketing support.”
Rounding out the “Top Ten” overall EDB Index® performers are:
- West Bend Mutual Insurance
- Central Mutual Insurance
- Safety Insurance
- Frankenmuth Insurance
- Selective Insurance
- Acuity Insurance
- SECURA Insurance
- State Auto Insurance
- Society Insurance
- Texas Mutual Insurance and United Fire Group (tie)
“There is a small increase in overall performance from last year’s EDB survey,” said Nort Salz, President of Deep Customer Connections (DCC). “Industry-wide, the Ease of Doing Business Index® rose from 87.8 in 2007 to 88.5 in 2008.”
In DCC’s annual EDB survey, agents and brokers rate the importance of 11 EDB Factors and then evaluate individual carriers’ performance in each factor. In addition to the highest overall EDB Index® performers, DCC recognizes the top performers by Factor. They are:
| Ease of Doing Business Factor | Top Property and Casualty Insurance Performer | ||
| Acts on agency needs | Frankenmuth Insurance | ||
| Underwriting responsiveness | Safety Insurance | ||
| Quotes and issues without rework | Selective Insurance | ||
| Underwriting flexibility | Safety Insurance | ||
| Policy services | West Bend Mutual Insurance | ||
| Effective technology | Progressive Insurance | ||
| Handles claims promptly | Chubb Insurance | ||
| Handles claims fairly | Cincinnati Insurance | ||
| Marketing support | West Bend Mutual Insurance | ||
| Insurance expertise and support | Texas Mutual Insurance | ||
| Makes it easy for the agent to do business with the policyholder | Central Mutual Insurance |
Some carriers improved their ratings while others’ ratings fell. For example, West Bend Mutual recaptured the #1 spot, and Central Mutual moved from 7th to 2nd. There are also several new names on the overall Top Ten list: Safety Insurance, Society Insurance, Texas Mutual Insurance, and United Fire Group.
“These changes in ratings represent one important reason carriers should measure their EDB performance,” explained Paul Croke, a DCC co-founder. “Agents’ ratings of EDB performance evolve over time; today’s improvements-including those in other industries-breed tomorrow’s expectations. Even the best performing carriers need to work hard to continue to earn high EDB ratings.”
“Measuring EDB is important for carriers,” continued Salz. “Our research clearly shows that EDB is a primary factor in agents’ buying decisions. EDB metrics enable carriers to know what they need to do to positively influence whether agents will buy from them because of their EDB performance.”
“Acknowledging superior EDB performance helps improve service and productivity in this critical insurance distribution channel,” added Croke. “At DCC, we’re proud to present EDB awards, and we congratulate these carriers who continue to make improvements and set the bar for the rest of the industry.”
About Deep Customer Connections, Inc.
Deep Customer Connections, Inc. specializes in helping property and casualty carriers achieve profitable growth by making it easy for their agents to work with them. DCC’s EDB Index® is an industry benchmark of carriers’ EDB performance. Further details of 2008 survey results will be available in DCC’s Annual EDB Benchmark Report, scheduled to be released in December, or by contacting DCC directly.