Research group Consulta has released its latest South African Customer Service Index (SAcsi) for Life Insurance (2020) which reveals the best life insurance providers in South Africa.
In a statement this week, Consulta said it had measured customer satisfaction of the country’s main life insurers, who include 1Life Insurance, Absa Life, Discovery Life, FNB Life, Liberty, Metropolitan, Momentum, Old Mutual, Sanlam and Standard Bank.
Impact of COVID-19
Ineke Prinsloo, Consulta’s head of consumer insights, said COVID-19 “has brought life insurance into the mainstream of consumer dialogue.”
“It is clear that the customer expectations of 2019 are not the same in the current environment, and fundamental shifts have taken place, both perceptually and in practice,” she explained.
According to Prinsloo, customers of life cover providers often consider the following factors:
- The ease of doing business with the insurer or broker and the quality of such engagements and advice.
- The speed and manner in which complaints and enquiries are handled.
- Whether the quality of the actual customer experience matches their perception of value derived versus price paid.
- The reputation and ethos ofthe insurer when it comes to claims time.
“Any hint of a blunder in this regard is likely to have a significant impact on customer trust and loyalty, and in turn, the overall perception of satisfaction with the insurer,” she added.
Best life insurance providers in South Africa
According to customers surveyed in Consulta’s SAcsi for Life Insurance 2020, the best life insurance providers in South Africa are ranked as follows (indexed according to overall customer satisfaction):
- Metropolitan (83.2)
- Standard Bank (82.4)
- FNB Life (81.7)
- 1Life Insurance (80,9)
The four providers above take “leader positions” and perform “above industry par,” which is 78.8.
The following providers perform at par level:
- Absa Life (77.5)
- Momentum (79.5)
- Old Mutual (78.9)
- Sanlam (79.7)
“Discovery Life (73.8) and Liberty (72.1) come in significantly below par (78.8) on overall Customer Satisfaction scores,” Consulta noted.
It added, “Interestingly, two of the four leader positions are held by banks – FNB Life and Standard Bank – and not traditional life insurers.
“Bancassurance – the distribution of insurance products through a customer’s established and trusted banking channels – continues to make inroads into the conventional insurer space.”