Almost half of InsuranceLine customers are “extremely likely” to renew their policies with the direct life insurer, according to new research from Roy Morgan.

A further 33% are “likely” to renew with the company.  

The only other life insurers to achieve a score above 40% for “extremely likely” are Zurich and AIA Australia, on 43.2% and 41.1% respectively.

All other insurers featured in the research achieve scores in the mid-30s, with the lowest, Real Insurance, on 32.4%. CommInsure is just ahead on 32.5%.

The average “extremely likely” result is 35.3%.

Roy Morgan Industry Communications Director Norman Morris says although most consumers intend to renew with their current insurers, there is uncertainty about when they will act.

“Not surprisingly, the most positive group are those who say they are extremely likely to renew,” he said. “These people make up about one-third of the market and are much more likely to indicate they are very satisfied with their insurance company.”

In terms of consumer satisfaction, Asteron leads with a rating of 78%, up 10.6 percentage points on the previous year.

AMP has the lowest satisfaction score with 66.1%, down three points.

Real Insurance recorded the biggest drop in satisfaction, down 10.6 points to 71.4%.

InsuranceLine scored 73.8%, down 5.3 points.

The industry average is 67.5% satisfaction, down 1.8 points.

“Satisfaction with life insurance has decreased during the past year, though it remains higher than it was a decade ago,” Mr Morris said.

“It is still lower than the other major types of insurance Roy Morgan measures, including motor vehicle, household and private health insurance.”

The research shows price is the main reason for shopping around or changing insurers, followed by friend or adviser recommendations, poor customer service, a change of job or a change in family circumstances.

Mr Morris says recent poor publicity for life insurers will affect consumer satisfaction and willingness to renew policies.