Insurers provide good customer service but are viewed by some consumers as interchangeable despite big spending on advertising, according to a survey by software and services company Rightnow Technologies.

The company polled more than 1000 consumers across seven industries. It found 77% were happy with the service from their insurer – the third-best industry in the survey.

Travel and hospitality was the top performer, at 86%, while telecommunications trailed the field with 61%.

Despite good service generally, some 51% of consumers who received poor service from an insurer stayed with it because they view insurers as “all the same”.

And in spite of the prevalence of online insurance services, the telephone is still king among 73% of consumers who prefer it when dealing with insurers.