Auckland, 21 September 2017 – AA Insurance shares the top honours for providing the ‘most enchanting’ customer experience, according to research by Kantar TNS New Zealand.
“We always put our customers first so it’s a privilege to be named a company with the most enchanted customers, alongside known and trusted household names ANZ and Air New Zealand,” says Chris Curtin, CEO at AA Insurance. “It speaks volumes about our customer service, which is always being considered and improved, and we’re honoured.”
Kantar TNS New Zealand interviewed 2,000 Kiwis about their most recent customer experiences, which considered the emotional impact that drives customer relationships and outcomes with companies. To deliver an enchanting experience, it needs to be rated as both excellent as well as leaving the customer feeling delighted. These enchanting experiences would go on to create positive memories for the customers and drive relationships with the company; those who felt enchanted had a 95% likelihood of remaining a customer.
Interestingly, the overall customer experience in New Zealand is lagging behind global standards. Only 11% of Kiwis are left feeling enchanted after a customer experience, compared to 20% of customers globally. Yet AA Insurance, ANZ and Air New Zealand all scored well above this figure at 16% each.
Kantar TNS New Zealand executive director Nigel Green says that what distinguishes the top three companies from others is that they create enchanting customer experiences by treating each communication channel with the attention it deserves. Whereas many other businesses treat social media as an afterthought, rather than a communication channel in its own right.
The agency’s research shows that online contact is preferred for many time-poor customers. Some 46% of people did not want to make a call to a service provider, preferring to email or get in touch on a social network instead. But often, these options aren’t available or thought through, and they’re forced to pick up the phone.
Conversely, speaking on the phone was the preferred option for older customers, as well as those with complex issues. For insurance, this can mean taking out a policy, making a claim, or needing urgent help during an emergency.
Says Chris: “The research has confirmed the importance that AA Insurance places on ensuring our customers can interact with us in their preferred way. This includes having real people answer our phones quickly to help connect customers with the right person first time, as well as offering a policy ‘self-serve’ option with My AA Insurance, and Live Chat – an online communication tool. We also treat social media – a popular option for younger customers - as a communication channel in its own right, and are committed to providing a prompt response.
“This accolade offers significant validation for the way we’re doing things, but we’ll never rest on our laurels. People’s needs change all the time, as does technology, so we’ll continue to listen to our customers to make sure we deliver the best experience to them every day.”
About AA Insurance
AA Insurance is an independently operated, New Zealand-based joint venture between the New Zealand Automobile Association (NZAA) and Vero Insurance New Zealand Limited (VINZL). Since 1994 we have demonstrated trusted expertise in home, contents and car insurance in New Zealand, and in 2018 introduced commercial small business insurance. We underwrite our own policies and sell direct to New Zealanders. Our 930+ staff look after over 480,000 customers with 970,000 policies.
We proudly partner with Variety NZ and Eden Park and have been consistently recognised by: Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brands (since 2011) and Quality Service Awards for Car, and Home and Contents Insurance (since 2015), Kantar Customer Leadership Index (since 2019), Canstar Blue Most Satisfied Customers (2011-2018), and the Colmar Brunton Corporate Reputation Index (since 2015) that recognises New Zealand’s most successful companies. AA Insurance was also named Consumer NZ People’s Choice award winner for car, home and contents (2019 and 2020).
AA Insurance has an AA- (Very Strong) Insurer Financial Strength Rating given by Standard and Poor’s (Australia) Pty Ltd. For further information visit aainsurance.co.nz.
For more information please contact:
Media Team, AA Insurance, 027 406 1787, mediacontact@aainsurance.co.nz
