Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz we are sharing the findings from the JD 2023 U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study and the newest deepfake scams.

Small Businesses Give Record-High Ratings to Commercial Insurers: JD Power

The 11th annual JD Power 2023 U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study reveals a notable surge in satisfaction among small businesses across the United States regarding their interactions with commercial insurance providers. Customer contentment has achieved an unprecedented peak of 847 points on a 1,000-point scale, showing a 5-point rise from the previous year and a substantial 70-point increase over the last decade. The study, which involved 2,472 small commercial insurance customers with 50 or fewer employees, examined aspects such as billing and payment, claims, interaction, policy offerings, and price. This upward trend in satisfaction, despite increasing premiums, is particularly pronounced in businesses with 5 to 50 employees. Nationwide claims the highest satisfaction score (883), followed by State Farm (877) and Cincinnati Insurance (870). Among the study's key findings, micro-sized businesses exhibit lower satisfaction, proactive communication from insurers regarding price changes enhances satisfaction, and social media engagement positively impacts customer contentment. Read the article here.

Deepfake Imposter Scams Are Driving a New Wave of Fraud

The rise of sophisticated scam technology, including AI-generated voices and deepfake masks created from social media photos, has raised alarms among regulators, law enforcement, and financial industry leaders. Criminals are leveraging advanced techniques to exploit consumers, with AI-powered fraud becoming a significant concern. Despite substantial investments in detection and prevention, financial fraud surged by 44% in the US in the past year, totaling nearly $8.8 billion in losses. The rapid adoption of online banking during the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the evolution of scam tech, has given rise to more elaborate and customized attacks that even tech-savvy individuals can fall victim to. As cybercrime costs are projected to reach $8 trillion this year globally, the financial industry faces an uphill battle to combat increasingly sophisticated and diversified fraudulent activities.

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