JD Power study says insurers are losing digital sales opportunities

Insurers have turned websites and mobile apps into a front door, but too many still fail to turn that visit into a sale, a service interaction, or the next policy. J.D. Power said 47% of all new auto and home insurance policies were purchased digitally, yet satisfaction with digital experiences fell across both shopping and servicing, a sign that carriers are still missing the execution gap between traffic and retention.

The 2026 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study was based on 11,553 evaluations fielded from January through March 2026. It looked at both shoppers seeking quotes and existing customers handling policy service across desktop web, mobile web, and mobile apps, scoring insurers on ease of navigation, speed, visual appeal, and information content. That mix matters for software buyers because the study is no longer just about whether a site looks modern. It is about whether the digital channel actually helps someone compare coverage, finish a transaction, and solve a service problem without friction.

That is where the cracks showed up. J.D. Power said customers still struggled to compare prices and coverage options easily, which weakens brand consideration at the exact moment when many shoppers are ready to switch. Chatbots and virtual assistants can help, but only 11% of customers used them in the digital shopping journey. That low usage suggests a familiar problem in insurer tech stacks: either the tools are too hidden, too hard to trust, or too weak to answer the questions that drive a policy decision.

The rankings also showed how segmented digital leadership has become. Amica ranked highest in service, with Nationwide second and GEICO third. In shopping, National General ranked first, followed by Automobile Club Group, known as AAA, and Erie Insurance. That split is a reminder that a strong service portal does not automatically produce a strong quoting flow, and vice versa. A carrier can be decent at claims lookups and still lose the customer at comparison time.

J.D. Power’s broader insurance commentary helps explain the pressure behind those gaps. Auto insurance shopping hit a record 57% in 2025, up from 49% in 2024, as customers found better prices in the market. For insurers, that makes digital engagement less of a branding exercise and more of a core operating system. The carriers that win now will be the ones that simplify navigation, surface policy details clearly, embed useful recommendations, and connect the front end cleanly to the core systems behind quoting, underwriting, billing, and service.