Insurers that offer more capabilities on their websites are the ones seeing more personal auto growth, according to the J.D. Power 2016 Insurance Shopping Study.

But personal auto shoppers are raising their standards based on their experience using websites in industries such as banking—and overall, insurer websites aren’t cutting it.

The good news: According to Valerie Monet, director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power, the result favors the agency distribution channel. Last year, 50% of personal auto shoppers closed through an agent.

“Not every insurance company out there has the ability to close,” Monet explains. “There’s a website capability issue that seems to be driving people to agents and other individuals to do that final close.”

Current customers are also showing signs of dissatisfaction with their insurer websites: About half of respondents to J.D. Power’s Digital Evolution Study said they “definitely will” return to the site for their servicing needs.

Here’s what you should keep in mind to ensure your website isn’t inhibiting potential sales—or pushing current clients to other agencies to service their needs.

Catering to Shoppers

Unsurprisingly, the most important factor for personal auto shoppers is price, followed by experience with distributors like independent agents and, lastly, policy offering. But “while it’s the least impactful, policy offering is still fairly substantial for consumers,” explains Monet, who recommends that agents highlight the importance of policy offering in order to shift the conversation away from price.

Consider inviting auto shoppers to assess their current policy by implementing a call to action on your website. “A lot of what comes into play for customers is how well their policy is explained to them, and how you help their understanding of it,” Monet explains. “That leads into different interactions about where they are or aren’t covered.”

Even if your website already provides capabilities for both shoppers and current customers, a responsive version makes it all the more valuable, given that 57% of auto insurance customers own a smartphone and 38% own a tablet.

But keep in mind that fewer auto policyholders are looking to switch. The study reports that customers shopping for a new insurer altogether dropped from 39 to 33 shops per 100 policies between 2015 and 2016. What’s more, among those shopping, only 30% follow through and switch insurers—a number that’s consistent with last year’s findings. On average, switchers save $356 on annual premiums, compared to $388 in 2015.

Greg Hoeg, vice president of U.S. insurance operations at J.D. Power, says that because many auto policyholders have learned to view insurance as a “price-differentiated commodity,” many shoppers opt to remain with their incumbent insurer “as they find the savings offered by competitors is not as great as they had expected.”

It’s yet another reason to focus on coverage rather than price. “Customers may have started to look at cost benefit analysis and saw that last year it didn’t get them anywhere, so they’re just not even bothering to take a look this year,” Monet points out.

Catering to Current Customers

Because you may acquire less new personal auto business this year, it’s all the more crucial to retain existing customers.

Just like you would for auto shoppers, make sure your current clients understand the ins and outs of their policies—nearly a quarter of auto insurance customers do not fully understand the information about their current deductible, coverages or the claims process currently available on their insurer’s website, according to J.D. Power.

The J.D. Power findings suggest that misunderstandings could be the culprit for declines in customer satisfaction for those who recently bought a new policy. Satisfaction among these customers dropped from 833 in 2015 to 826 in 2016 on a 1,000-point scale.

“A lot of it comes down to being that personal adviser for their customers,” Monet explains. “‘Does the agent truly understand my needs? Have they explained everything?’” Clients should answer these questions with an unwavering “yes.”

On that note, communicate often. “People who are more engaged with their agent—have had a more recent interaction—tend to be more apt to say that they’re happy with the brand and they’re less likely to shop,” Monet says. Notably, “We’ve done some significant analysis on how to better engage shoppers digitally, and we see one of the strongest drivers is having a follow-up interaction with the agent in person.”

Across all generations, your clients want peace of mind. “That personal touch is something people are still looking for,” Monet says. “At a basic level, it’s answering their questions, but it’s more about helping them with their full range of needs.”

Jordan Reabold is IA assistant editor.