JD Power: Auto Claims Satisfaction Flat as More Divers Take on Higher Deductibles
Overall satisfaction with the auto insurance claims process didn’t improve much in the past year, which may be good news considering more auto insurance customers now have higher deductibles and more say they’ve avoided filing a claim for fear their rates could rise.
Satisfaction rose to 700 on a 1,000-point scale, up 3 points year-over-year, the latest J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study shows.
According to the study, auto insurance customers took on higher deductibles, dropped their rental coverage, avoided filing claims and even opted out of collision coverage to reduce costs on their policies. It shows 26% of auto insurance customers now have deductibles of $1,000 or more, and 7% of auto insurance customers say they’ve avoided filing a claim for fear their rates could rise.
The study is based on responses from 9,455 customers from the largest insurance providers in the U.S. who settled a claim within the past nine months before participating in the survey. The study ran from September 2024 to August 2025.
Erie Insurance ranked in first place in overall customer satisfaction with a score of 743. NJM Insurance Co. (731), Liberty Mutual (730), Nationwide (729) and the Automobile Club of Southern California (726) followed.
Findings from the study have yet to reflect a significant uptick in sentiment about auto insurance, though rates have been steadily declining since April 2024 after a number of insurers filed for rate decreases. Just under half (44%) of customers say they have instead received a rate increase in the past year, yielding an overall satisfaction rate of 650 for those respondents. That is 104 points lower than those who did not get a rate increase.
The JD Power report shows overall average cycle time for repairable vehicles has improved, down to 19.3 days from 22.3 days a year ago. That is despite the drag on average cycle time from autos with newer technologies. The average repair cycle time for vehicles older than 2015 with no ADAS features was 17.9 days compared with 21.5 days for newer 2019-present vehicles with three or more ADAS features.
The study also found that claim severity continues to grow. Total losses were up to 27% from 24% from last year. Satisfaction scores fell by 9 points for customers who experienced total loss, with 58% of those respondents saying the total loss valuation fully met their expectations.
Smaller claims ($2,000 or less) were 20% of total claims, down 1% from last year, according to the study.