Customers experience most frustration with banks and insurance providers when communicating with them through the contact centre, according to new research.

A survey by customer relationship company Aspect examining UK consumers’ attitudes towards banks and insurance providers found 48% were dissatisfied. Additionally, 66% considered moving to another insurance provider in the last 12 months, and 43% considered changing banks.

Of these, nearly half actually did move to another insurer, but only 8% moved their accounts to another bank, said the study.

The research also showed that a third of UK consumers claimed to be unhappy with customer service they receive from their banks and insurance providers. Respondents cited ‘call centre staff unable to perform necessary transactions,’ ‘do not return calls’ and ‘takes too long to answer the phone’ as the biggest bugbears from their insurance providers’ customer service.

Peter Nicol from Aspect said: “Cross-selling and upselling to existing customers is a critical revenue stream for banks and insurers but our research demonstrates that these institutions are losing a high percentage of accounts and policies every year. A proportion of consumers are clearly getting frustrated with their financial services providers due to the quality of service they receive through the contact centre.”