J.D. Power warns insurers, digital experience still frustrates customers

Insurers have built the front door, but too many customers still cannot find the room they need once they step inside. J.D. Power said its 2026 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study found satisfaction with insurer websites and mobile apps declined as shoppers ran into missing information and largely ignored virtual assistants and chatbots meant to help them.

The study, fielded starting in January 2026 and released May 13, showed how central digital channels have become to the business anyway. Nearly half, 47%, of all new auto and home insurance policies were purchased digitally. Yet only 11% of customers used chatbots or virtual assistants during the shopping process, even though those tools lifted satisfaction for the customers who did use them. J.D. Power said the study measured both shopping and servicing experiences for property and casualty insurance customers, looking at design, information, quoting, tools and capabilities, and system performance.

Eric McCready, J.D. Power’s director of digital solutions, said customers and prospects were comparison shopping on insurer websites and apps as insurance prices began to come down nationwide, and said the digital channel was quickly becoming the primary touch point between insurers and their customers. Justin Suter, director of market engagement and thought leadership at Corporate Insight, which worked with J.D. Power on the study, said websites and apps had become a core part of the insurance customer journey and that insurers needed to get their digital formulas right as customers increasingly used AI tools for insurance information and quote comparisons.

The message landed against a year-over-year backdrop that showed how fast the channel has changed. In J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study, 57% of auto insurance customers had actively shopped for a new policy in the past year, and 47% of auto insurance shoppers bought through digital channels. J.D. Power said digital had become the primary conduit to auto insurance buyers, outpacing agent purchases and more than doubling call center sales. In that 2025 study, Amica tied for first in shopping with a score of 559 on a 1,000-point scale and finished second in service with 724.

This year’s release shifted the leaderboard again, with J.D. Power saying Amica ranked highest in service and National General ranked highest in shopping. That distinction matters because the same digital habits now spill into claims. In J.D. Power’s March 2026 property claims study, 38% of customers filed first notice of loss digitally, 49% submitted photos digitally, and 45% received updates digitally. The pattern is clear: when policyholders can complete the task, they use the software. When they cannot, the website or app becomes another place where service breaks down.