Customer satisfaction with auto total loss insurance claims has fallen for the third year in a row, while satisfaction with claims related to repairable vehicles has improved, a new study from this year shows.
Customer satisfaction with total loss claims fell 12 points on a 1,000-point scale in 2026, a decline of 46 points since 2023 JD Power 2026 US Car Damage Satisfaction Study.
However, satisfaction with repairable vehicle claims improved by four points, and overall customer satisfaction with automotive claims remained unchanged at 700 from last year.
Overall, 26% of car insurance claims this year were classified as total losses, up from 16% four years ago. The growing share of total claims reflects rising vehicle repair costs, longer storage of vehicles by consumers and higher deductibles that remove minor repairs from the claims process, according to the study. Pressures on affordability also led some customers to abandon rental protection or increase deductibles, making claims more difficult to process.
Repair turnaround times have improved as claims volumes have declined and repair shops have increased capacity. Average repair cycle times fell to 15.3 days in the first quarter of 2026, 10 days less than in the first quarter of 2024, the study shows.
The study also found differences in customer satisfaction depending on how effectively insurers communicate across channels. Average satisfaction was 804 for customers who strongly believed their insurers provided a seamless experience across all communication channels, compared to 390 for customers who disagreed.
The study shows that insurers provided a seamless cross-channel experience 54% of the time, one of the lowest-performing metrics in the study. Issues cited included unclear explanations, customers having to use multiple channels to get answers, and digital tools not working as expected.
Amica ranked highest overall in customer satisfaction with a score of 775, followed by Nationwide at 743 and Automobile Club of Southern California (AAA) at 740.
The study examines motor vehicle claims experiences in order of importance: trust, fairness of claim settlement, people, time to settle claim, communication, ease of claim settlement, ease of claim reporting and digital channels. The 2026 study was based on responses from 8,261 auto insurance customers who had paid their claims within the nine months prior to participating in the survey, which was conducted from September 2025 to August 2026.
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