Boston, Dec. 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dalbar Announces the 2016 Annuity Service Award Winners
(Boston, MA. December 20, 2016) Dalbar identifies the top annuity providers when it comes to service to contract owners. AIG, AXA and Prudential stood out from the rest of the industry, earning the coveted Dalbar 2016 Annuity Service Award.
Dalbar has spent the last two decades evaluating and benchmarking interactions between annuity providers and their contract owners. Each of the last 20 years, Dalbar has identified those firms that rise above their peers in the level of service provided. Dalbar recognizes these elite institutions with the Annuity Service Award.
Dalbar Director Brendan Yeager shares, “Annuity products can be very complicated and so it is critical that providers take the time to paint a clear picture for their contract owners. AXA, AIG and Prudential all do just that. They put the customer first and ensure that when their clients get off the phone with them they not only have answers to all of their questions, but are also better educated than they were when they called in.”
Each of this year’s winners is continuing a tradition of excellence. Prudential has earned the Annuity Service Award a record 17 times. The other 2016 Award recipients are not far behind, with 2016 representing AXA’s 12th and AIG’s 11th Annuity Service Award.
Dalbar’s Annuity Service Award is earned through an objective third-party evaluation of the quality of contact center service being provided to annuity contract owners. Over the course of the year, Dalbar randomly selects and audits incoming telephone calls in order to monitor the caller’s experience. Each service interaction is reviewed against detailed criteria covering all aspects of the customer experience. In order to qualify for the Award, companies must exceed stringent benchmarks across all of the criteria reviewed. Specific areas where AIG, AXA and Prudential stood out include: building rapport with contract owners, repeating important information, being an active listener and providing a complete response. For more information on the Annuity Service Award or the Annuity Service Evaluation Program, please contact Brooke Halloran at 617-624-7273 or at bhalloran@dalbar.com.
Dalbar, Inc. is the financial community’s leading independent expert for evaluating, auditing and rating business practices, customer performance, product quality and service. Launched in 1976, Dalbar has earned a reputation for consistent and unbiased evaluations of investment companies, registered investment advisers, insurance companies, broker/dealers, retirement plan providers and financial professionals. Dalbar awards are recognized as marks of excellence in the financial community.