Assessment of Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction: The Case of Bunna Insurance S.Co.

Abstract

It has been learned that many scholars have studied the effects of service quality on satisfaction i.e. meeting customers’ needs and requirements and how well the service delivery matches the customers’ expectations. Despite the fact that factors such as quality, price, delivery terms, etc. can affect customer satisfaction; perceived service quality is a component of customer satisfaction. It has been identified that the most widely used service quality measurement tools include SERVQUAL. The SERVQUAL model suggests that service quality can be measured by identifying the gaps between customers' expectation and perceptions of the performance of the service using five-dimensions: reliability, assurance, tangible, empathy, and responsiveness. The main objective of the study is, thus, to assess the effect of quality service on customer satisfaction in Buna Insurance S.C. The research adapted a descriptive approach. The target populations of the research are customers of the Company located at various branch offices in Addis Ababa; Out of 227customers, 145 customers were selected as samples with 95% confidence interval and questionnaires distributed using simple stratified sampling and convenience sampling methods. The research used primary and secondary data sources. The study applied Likert Scale to measure respondents’ attitude toward quality service delivery and their satisfaction level in the questionnaire. The findings of the study revealed that the Company has shown some strength on SERVQUAL dimensions. Some factors of tangibility dimension found to be in good conditions: communication channels (reachable via phone, fax, internet access), attractive appearance and standard dressing, it has fulfilled basic office utilities (like waiting room, car parking, rest room...), made its service procedures clear and accurate; some positive sides of responsiveness: employees are willing to help their customers, to get the right information at the right time during insurance process; reliability dimension: the company employees’ are efficient and knowledgeable on their duties and tasks, easy accessibility to information on the services; assurance dimension: the company has (i.e. agents and employees) provided value added services to customers, employees are professional enough to deal with insurance activities; finally the research has identified empathy as important SERVQUAL dimension by which the following strength pointed out: the company’s employees are distinguished to be good to deal with customers in cooperative way to extend advice and support to the customers. However, the research identified that the company showed some drawbacks in delivering quality service to maximize its customer satisfaction: limitation to conduct customer need assessment, the charges for insurance premium is a bit incomparable to service delivery, inability to inform its customers exactly what the service will be performed and when his/her insurance policy expired. Finally the research forwards recommendations.