Consumer NZ announces People’s Choice awards for Insurance

4 November 2016

Consumer NZ announces 2016 People’s Choice awards for Insurance

Consumer NZ has awarded Medical Assurance Society (MAS) and FMG Insurance (FMG) the 2016 People’s Choice awards for insurance.

MAS had a particularly strong performance picking up the award across four insurance categories: house; contents; car; and life. FMG was a joint winner with MAS in the house insurance category.

People’s Choice winners are found through analysis of Consumer NZ surveys. The general insurance survey garnered responses from more than 8000 Consumer NZ members rating the service they received from their provider.

A business or brand must be a standout performer for customer satisfaction to receive a People’s Choice award.

Consumer NZ general manager – business Derek Bonnar said consumers often viewed insurance as a “grudge purchase”. However, the majority of MAS and FMG customers were very satisfied with their insurer.

“MAS achieved an average overall satisfaction rating of 82 percent in the home insurance category, 87 percent for contents insurance, 86 percent for car insurance and 70 percent for life insurance. FMG achieved 77 percent in the home insurance category,” Mr Bonnar said.

“MAS and FMG have set a high bar in terms of customer satisfaction and we congratulate them on an outstanding achievement.”

MAS chief executive Martin Stokes was delighted with the result.

“This is a fantastic result and I couldn’t be prouder of the team. As a mutual insurer our purpose is quite simple – we exist to protect what matters in our members’ lives. Our people look to deliver on that by providing the very best service they can every day. We also appreciate our members’ expectations don’t stand still, and we are constantly looking to improve their experience,” he said.

FMG chief client, marketing and human resources officer Andrea Brunner said it was a result all FMG staff would be delighted with.

“As a mutual insurer, we pride ourselves on providing clients with outstanding day-to-day service and support, so it’s very rewarding to get feedback from our clients that we are meeting their expectations. It’s recognition every employee at FMG will take a great sense of pride in achieving as we continue to deliver advice-led insurance to clients across the country,” she said.

Consumer NZ would like to see improved transparency for consumers in the insurance market.

“Some insurance policy documents run to 40 pages or more. This makes it difficult for the average consumer to compare policies and features. We think insurers should be required to provide a simple, one-page summary of core policy features to make it easier for consumers to compare. Ninety-one percent of respondents agreed,” Mr Bonnar said.

Consumer NZ is an independent, not-for-profit organisation. Winners of Consumer NZ endorsements and awards can license use of the awards for marketing and promotions. All revenue raised from the endorsement programme goes back into the research Consumer NZ does on behalf of all Kiwis.

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