Hellopeter drives up positive sentiment while customer service challenges remain.
DataEQ has published the 2024 South African Insurance Sentiment Index, revealing consumer perceptions towards 15 of the country's leading long-term and short-term insurers. This year’s index findings are based on an analysis of over 900,000 online conversations from 1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024.
Overall Net Sentiment towards insurance continues to rise
Despite an 18% increase in the volume of consumer conversations, the insurance industry once again saw an annual improvement with Net Sentiment up by 2%. Positive Hellopeter reviews, coupled with engagement from campaigns and competitions, were largely responsible for this positive uptick.
King Price, MiWay and Momentum lead the pack
King Price achieved the highest Overall Net Sentiment score of 57%, as well as generating the largest volume of conversation. This result was largely driven by positive reviews on Hellopeter, with 76% of King Price posts coming from Hellopeter, where customers commended the insurer’s staff for their efficiency and general helpfulness during sign-ups and policy adjustments.
MiWay achieved the highest Operational Net Sentiment of 77%. Customers commended them for their affordability and diverse range of product offerings, which were a key factor in them ranking second overall.
Momentum placed third in this year’s report, driven largely by its industry-leading reputational Net Sentiment of 39%. The insurer effectively leveraged campaigns, particularly #SheOwnsHerSuccess and #WomenWhoMakeMoves. Customers expressed admiration for the company’s focus on empowering women and supporting small businesses.
The Hellopeter effect
With brands improving their engagements with consumers on Hellopeter, the volume of posts directed at insurers on Hellopeter has more than doubled over the last 3 years, playing a key role in boosting Net Sentiment across the industry. When Hellopeter data was excluded, overall Net Sentiment dropped from 18% to 4%, while positive reviews from the site significantly increased Operational Net Sentiment for a number of insurers.
Claims processing erodes consumer trust
The inadequate handling of claims is a concern across the industry and the leading cause behind the erosion of consumer trust. Poor communication and lengthy claims processing left customers frequently questioning the competency of staff members and their inability to handle queries and claims effectively. Customer dissatisfaction after claims were rejected indicated an expectation gap.
Call centre engagements drive service complaints
Call centres were the most complained about service channel, with a Net Sentiment of -85%. Customers highlighted difficulties in reaching a service agent, extended wait times due to high call volumes, dropped calls and poor line quality. Unsolicited sales calls were also a significant point of frustration, raising concerns about data privacy.
Websites generated the second highest volume of service channel conversation while also ranking as the most positive channel with a Net Sentiment of -2%. Although customers cited issues around logging in, website navigation, and accessing documents, many also praised their insurers for the ease of submitting claims, managing policies and activating new policies online.
Liska Kloppers, Head of Client Strategy at DataEQ, noted:
"Despite the positive performance of the insurance industry, customer service remains a major driver of negativity, particularly around the handling of claims. Improvements seen on Hellopeter represent opportunities for strategic improvements on other digital channels, to alleviate the dependency on call centres, and improve service and customer-brand relations.”