How P&C Insurance Carriers Are Closing the Coverage Confidence Gap

This year, The Hanover and J.D. Power both released reports revealing an unsettling problem within the P&C industry’s customer experience: the coverage confidence gap. 

According to a 2026 national survey commissioned by The Hanover Insurance Group, nine in ten homeowners report concerns about protecting their homes and personal property, yet nearly half were unable to confirm whether identity fraud protection or water backup coverage was included in their standard policy. While homeowners say they value comprehensive protection above price, and most say they’d pay more for broader coverage, they are unaware of what coverages they already have.

The J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Auto Insurance Study echoed a similar finding: the picture isn’t much clearer in auto insurance.

According to the J.D. Power study, only 58% of auto insurance customers say they fully understand their policies, a figure that has declined four points in just one year. The consequences are measurable: customers who fully understand their coverage score 127 points higher in overall satisfaction and are significantly less likely to shop around. Those who do not understand their auto policy are increasingly turning to AI tools to fill the gap, and when they turn to AI, they are more than 1.3 times as likely to switch carriers.

Across both home and auto, the data suggests that the opportunity for insurers isn’t necessarily in the products they offer, but in how well their digital experiences help customers understand, trust and engage with the coverage they already have.

In the September 2025 Unique and Innovative Features report published by Corporate Insight’s P&C Insurance Monitor, we documented this gap in action, revealing how carriers across the industry are (and in many cases, aren’t) using their digital platforms to build the kind of transparency and engagement that turns confused policyholders into loyal ones.

Coverage Tools That Educate

In the report, we found that some carriers are already investing in features that directly address the coverage comprehension problem:

The Hartford’s public site auto coverage calculator walks prospective customers through three targeted questions—state of residence, vehicle ownership status and shopping priority (either a preference towards lower cost or more protection options)—to generate a personalized result page with recommended coverages, state-specific requirements and a glossary of key terms. Notably, the tool proactively addresses user hesitation by explaining the purpose behind each prompt, before the customer has a chance to even ask.

Liberty Mutual takes a similar approach through its Am I Covered? Tool, which uses scenario-based peril examples—think fender benders, cracked windshields and theft—to show policyholders where their coverage may fall short. Results are paired with direct pathways to add missing protections online, making the tool one of the more seamless cross-sell experiences in our coverage set. When customers see their gap and close them in a single digital session, the knowledge and retention problems are resolved at the same time.

Building Confidence Through Lifestyle Tools

The coverage confidence gap isn’t limited to what’s in a policy document. The Hanover’s survey found that regular repair costs (45%) and severe weather damage (42%) rank as homeowners’ top two concerns—anxieties that standard coverage communication alone won’t resolve. Several carriers are responding with tools that extend well beyond the policy itself.

In our report, we documented how Liberty Mutual’s Liberty+ microsite offers policyholders a dedicated home maintenance platform, accessible with the same login credentials as the policyholder site. Using a brief onboarding questionnaire, the microsite generates personalized seasonal maintenance recommendations, weather readiness resources and a customizable to-do list that tracks the homeowner’s progress. A virtual roof assessment tool, powered by aerial imagery, gives users an immediate snapshot of one of their most significant coverage concerns without having to call an agent.

The Bottom Line

The coverage confidence gap is a communication problem more than a product problem. The digital experience is where it’s both most visible and most addressable. Carriers that invest in tools that educate, engage and empower their customers stand to gain not just in satisfaction scores, but in the loyalty metrics that matter most: renewal rates, reduced shopping behavior and long-term retention. Corporate Insight’s P&C Insurance Monitor continues to track these developments across the industry’s leading carriers, providing the behind-login access and feature-level detail that surfaces best practices and gaps across the industry that are shaping the digital insurance experiences.