Rating Methodology

The 2020 Consumer Scores were based on 2,500 independent and unbiased affluent insurance customers of Hong Kong and Mainland Visiting Customers from the BENCHMARK 2020 Insurance Survey that includes 450+ metrics over four pillars of satisfaction. The Overall score is an aggregated score of the four pillars on Product Satisfaction, the satisfaction of Cost of Product, satisfaction on R.O.I, and satisfaction on Product Innovation.

What's new in the 2021 Methodology?

The long-overdue quantitative methodology to measure the inside out of health and life insurers is finally here! While the annual Benchmark Wealth Management Awards are highly regarded among industry veterans and peers, the advanced methodology takes our awards to the next level. It is no longer just an award but a process that integrates Social Listening, Customer Feedback, the Insurers' Self Disclosure of practices, and Expert Insights, to formulate the Benchmark Insurance Index.  

Companies unwilling to disclose their practices will receive a penalty with zero scores allocated to the Self-Disclosure metrics.  

Participating insurance companies of all plans will complete and submit a standardized Due Diligence Questionnaire (DDQ) for Scoring and Weighting in the Benchmark Insurance Indices (See above explanation). There are two types of data collected during the submission process: binary or multiple pre-defined options (-5 to 5) and text-based data.  We divide the allocated scores by the maximum possible score, multiply the score by 5, and convert to the score range between -5 to 5 to arrive at an average weighted score for each question.  After score allocation, all the questions in each pillar will be summed up for a score weight before the final stage of peer comparison.

A percentage of each pillar in the respective product or service level and category will be assigned to an index bucket. For example, Training and Development in the Governance category form part of the Dependability Index, and Governance is allocated approximately 30% to the DI.

Value Index (VI)
VI is an indicator of value for money and what each $1 will buy for the customers in return. The product metrics measure premium leverage, ROI, IRR, breakeven, range of coverage and exclusions, policy flexibility, and transferability of policyholders, etc. This indicator is far superior to a simple comparison of the premium cost and has a scale of 0.00 to 5.00.
Comfort Index (CI)
CI is an indicator that reflects the insurer's ability to provide a comfortable environment for customers to do business with. The index is solely based upon the customers' past experiences with the insurer in claims, ease of doing business such as digital access and after-hours support, account opening, problem-solving capabilities, and agents' fair dealing. This indicator has a scale of 0.00 to 5.00.
Dependability Index (DI)
DI is an indicator of risk and measures customers' safety in their purchase with the insurer. The index is an aggregated computation to reflect the insurer's business longevity and safeness for customers' long-term planning. DI analyzes the financial ratings and solvency ratios, risk alignment between customers and the products, how the agents are trained to deliver the right message, the structure of various SLA and resolutions. This indicator has a scale of -5.00 to 5.00.
Brand Index (BI)
BI is an indicator to reflect the sentiment towards an insurer's Brand. The analysis is solely based on the customers' and prospective customers' view on the Brand's strength of reputation and stability, effectiveness in communicating a message and resulting in a purchase, engagement by their terms such as digital, advocacy/N.P.S., and retention. This indicator has a scale of -5.00 to 5.00.
Sustainability Index (SI)
SI is an indicator of social responsibility. The index collaborates with Benchmark's sister company, BlueOnion, to analyze the insurer's ESG, UN Global Compact, Business Controversies, Alignment with the Paris-Climate short and long-term temperature UN SDG and TCFD. The index also analyzes the insurer's Participating funds' sustainable investment policies. This indicator has a scale of 0.00 to 5.00.