US insurance consumers are becoming more demanding on what they expect from their insurance provider, according to a new insurance survey from Ernst & Young. They’re looking for more personalized service and want to be rewarded for customer loyalty. Consumers are also increasingly willing to buy multiple products from the same carrier as long as those products fit their individual needs.

The survey included more than 24,000 consumers of insurance products in 23 countries. “We designed this survey to be far-reaching, to touch across geographies and demographics, and as a way to help insurers contend with one of their biggest challenges: anticipating their customers’ needs and devising ways to serve them more effectively,” says David Hollander, Ernst & Young’s Global Insurance Advisory Leader in a news release. “This survey uncovers valuable insights into consumers’ perceptions that we think all insurers – in the U.S. and abroad – can use to change how they sell, service and market to consumers across multiple products lines.”

What they discovered as that consumers continue to want better service and more loyalty rewards. More than a third reported feeling that life and pensions insurance industry is lagging behind other sectors. The good news is, most don’t plan on going anywhere with 65% saying they are either not at all likely or not very likely to change insurers over the next five years. “This is the best time for insurers to make key investments in data analytics, predictive modeling and service-related technology that will help identify product leads and develop tailored messaging and personalized offers for existing consumers,” Hollander says. “With consumers claiming they are open to being sold new products when the time is right, insurers need the technology and systems in place today to manage their sales efforts across a large customer base.” The survey also found that while people are more comfortable with conducting research online, they still want to talk to a real person when they need to.

A new study shows Americans are increasingly preferring to purchase their life insurance directly from the company either on the Internet, through the mail or over the phone. Two-thirds of Americans still prefer to buy life insurance from an insurance or financial professional, but a growing number like the idea of buying it directly.

Now more than one in four prefer this method. “‘Obviously, the Internet has fundamentally changed consumers’ buying practices over the past 15 years,” said Marvin H. Feldman, CLU, ChFC, RFC, president and CEO of the LIFE Foundation in a news release. “Recognizing the growing consumer interest to use the Internet to conduct research and buy life insurance, life insurance companies and agents have developed and implemented innovative strategies to engage and serve consumers through their websites and social media platforms that are more convenient for the customer.”

The study found that younger consumers have the most interest in making life insurance purchases directly from the company. Roughly one in three in the 25-44 age bracket say they would prefer to buy direct, with most saying the Internet was their vehicle of choice. This information was recently released in a new LIFE Foundation/LIMRA study called “The 2011 Insurance Barometer Study.” But no matter how they purchase it, most people agree that life insurance is a necessity, with 86% saying that most people need it.

The American Association for Justice (AAJ), an organization representing the concerns of lawyers mostly working for plaintiffs in civil trials, gave Allstate its lowest rating today in its study of US insurance companies. This statement comes on the heels of a long history of legal conflict between Allstate and its customers, who have been taking to court their demands for allegedly wrongfully withheld claims. The AAJ asserted today that Allstate is the worst insurance company in the country, based on the rates it charges its customers and its unfair treatment of many customers.

Miami is known for palm trees, beaches, and luxuries but as the economy continues to worsen a large part of the Miami lifestyle is beginning to suffer.

Miami is just one city throughout the United States that is seeing the devastating effects of a housing and job market reaching all time lows. As a city known for its prime real estate the housing market here has definitely slowed due in large part to the Sub Prime Mortgage crisis which has put the entire economy in a tail spin.