Insurers overtake banks in customer experience in Singapore: survey

INSURERS in Singapore have beaten banks in the quality customer experience (CX) for the first time since 2018 - the year Forrester's survey on the topic started.

The research and advisory firm on Monday said it surveyed more than 2,000 Singapore consumers across 11 brands (six insurers and five banks) to form its Singapore CX Index benchmarks.

The survey found that overall CX quality in Singapore improved by three points to 63.3 from 60.3 on a 100-point scale, as every insurance brand improved their CX scores.

FWD topped the insurance vertical for the second year in a row, while Citibank came in first among banks, displacing DBS - a long-standing leader. Citibank previously came in last in 2020.

The bank was "highly rated" for its mobile banking capabilities, resolving problems and issues quickly, maintaining transparent prices, rates and fees, as well as keeping customers' personal and financial information secure, Forrester said.

In a separate statement on Monday, Citibank said it initiated more proactive client engagement for wealth management and improved its cards' onboarding process this year.

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This allowed the bank to raise its net promoter score - one of its measures of customer loyalty and satisfaction - by 35 per cent as a whole across its cards, wealth and digital businesses in 2021 from end-2020.

"The higher customer sentiment is a key reason for the bank's 88 per cent jump in new client referral rates in 2021," Citibank said.

Forrester principal analyst Tom Mouhsian said: "The improvements made by the insurance sector demonstrate that emotionally positive customer engagement drives CX improvement, which ultimately leads to customer loyalty."

Around half or 51 per cent of customers who felt confident with their provider were more likely to remain with the brand. Two-thirds (or 66 per cent) plan to increase their spending while 71 per cent said they would recommend the brand to their family or friends.

On the other hand, only 9 per cent of customers who felt disappointed said they would remain with the brand or spend more on it, while only 5 per cent would advocate for it.