Health insurance premiums are set to climb yet again in 2020. Customer satisfaction with health insurance providers, on the other hand, has dropped. This year’s health insurance customer satisfaction survey by moneyland.ch shows that customers of health insurance companies are less satisfied with their insurance providers than they were last year.
Premium hikes directly upset customers and factor significantly into the decline in customer satisfaction, says moneyland.ch CEO Benjamin Manz.
Customer satisfaction with health insurance companies drops
Independent online comparison service moneyland.ch conducted a survey of customer satisfaction with Swiss health insurance providers for the year 2019. The survey, which included 1500 consumers from across Switzerland, measured customer satisfaction based on 10 key points. Participants were asked to rate their satisfaction with their health insurance providers on a scale of 1 (totally unsatisfied) to 10 (totally satisfied).
The 10 key points on which participants rated their health insurance providers are: friendliness and helpfulness of representatives; availability of customer service; waiting time for answers to questions; value for money; accuracy of account statements; tolerance for late payments; time required for claim settlements; clarity of information provided; general satisfaction.
The average customer satisfaction level is lower in 2019 than in 2018, but remains in the acceptable region. On average, Swiss health insurance customers gave their insurance companies 7.6 out of 10 points (rating: good). Swiss health insurance policyholders are most satisfied with the friendliness of insurance company representatives. This is followed by the accuracy and clarity of account statements, availability of customer service, and general satisfaction (rating: good). Customers are least satisfied with value for money (rating: sufficient), followed by tolerance for late payments and clarity of information provided.
French-speaking Swiss less satisfied than German-speaking Swiss
There is a clear customer satisfaction gap between linguistic regions. Residents of French-speaking Switzerland are notably less satisfied with their health insurance providers than residents of German-speaking Switzerland. The average overall satisfaction rating given by consumers in French-speaking Switzerland is 7.2 out of 10 points, compared to 7.9 points in German-speaking Switzerland. In addition to cultural differences, this ongoing trend is likely due to the fact that health insurance premiums in French-speaking Switzerland have consistently been higher than those in German-speaking Switzerland due to higher healthcare costs.
Young policyholders less satisfied
The youngest customers surveyed – adults between the ages of 18 and 25 – are less satisfied with their health insurance providers than other age groups. The weighted average customer satisfaction rating for this age group is 7.2 out of 10 points, compared to 7.4 points for adults aged 26 to 49 years old and 7.9 points for adults aged 50 to 74 years old.
“The older the customer, the less satisfied they are with their health insurance providers,” states moneyland.ch analyst Silvan Wehrli. “Young policyholders are particularly likely to be upset by high health insurance premiums because as a whole, they claim less benefits than older adults.”
Men are less satisfied than women
Women rate their health insurance providers higher than men do. The overall customer satisfaction rating among women is 7.8 out of 10 points, compared to 7.5 points among men.
The difference between urban and rural customers is small. The average customer satisfaction rating from the rural population is 7.7 out of 10 points, compared to 7.6 points from urban customers.
Differences in satisfaction between health insurance companies
Agrisano received the highest customer satisfaction ratings, with 8.5 out of 10 points. It is followed by KPT (8.2 points), Swica (8.2 points), ÖKK (8.1 points), Sanitas (7.9 points) and Atupri (7.9 points). Insurance companies which received average ratings include Helsana (7.8 points), EGK (7.8 points), Concordia (7.7 points), CSS (7.5 points) and Sympany (7.5 points). Visana received an overall rating of 7.3 points and Groupe Mutuel received 7.1 points from its customers.
Assura received the lowest customer satisfaction rating, with 6.7 points. Assura also received the lowest score for any individual factor, with customers giving it just 6.2 out of 10 points for time required for claim settlements (when indirect settlement is used). Unfortunately, while Assura’s premiums are exceptionally low, its customer satisfaction ratings are as well,” concludes Silvan Wehrli.
Detailed breakdowns of customer satisfaction ratings are included in the health insurance comparison on moneyland.ch.
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