SATISFACTION ISSUES IN THE REINSTATEMENT OF FLOOD DAMAGED DOMESTIC PROPERTY Victor Samwinga 1 , David G. Proverbs 1 and Jacqueline Homan 2 1 School of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, WV1 1SB, UK 2 School of Applied Science, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, WV1 1SB, UK E-mail: V.Samwinga@wlv.ac.uk ABSTRACT: The frequency of flooding is forecast to increase in the UK, as is the number of properties at risk of flooding. Following major floods in England and Wales in recent years, questions have been raised concerning the quality of service received by insured homeowners during the repair of their properties. At present there is little existing research that evaluates homeowners' perceptions and their levels of satisfaction with respect to the performance of their insurers, repair and restoration companies and loss adjusters during flood damage reinstatement claims. As part of a wider investigation, a review is presented of issues relating to satisfaction and service quality. A proposed approach is put forward for measuring satisfaction of insured homeowners in flood claims. Knowledge of the determinants of insured homeowners' satisfaction in flood damage repair works would be beneficial to all stakeholders involved in the claim chain and should lead to an improved service for homeowners. Keywords – Domestic Properties, Flood Damage, Homeowners, Insurers, Satisfaction. INTRODUCTION Satisfaction and service quality have received significant attention over the years, resulting in a huge body of literature in several different disciplines (including economics, business, marketing, psychology and sociology), each based on slightly different theoretical premises. Despite conceptual controversies on satisfaction and service quality, it is clear that businesses need to pay attention to the service perceptions of their customers in order to maintain satisfaction and loyalty. It has even been suggested that in today's competitive business world, it is no longer sufficient to merely satisfy customers by meeting their needs and expectations. Instead, businesses ought to 'delight' customers (i.e. exceed their expectations), which is thought to engender loyalty (Jobber, 1998; Kotler and Armstrong, 2001), whereas a 'satisfied' customer may remain a customer so long as there is no better service available. There is currently insufficient knowledge of the issues associated with the satisfaction of insured homeowners in flood damage claims. Focused research would therefore be beneficial in providing a knowledge base upon which service providers (insurance companies, loss adjusters, flood restoration firms, etc.) can potentially draw, in their effort to deliver services that will meet (or exceed) insured homeowners' needs and expectations. The study therefore presents a review of satisfaction and service quality in the context of the above flood-related issues, together with a proposed approach for measuring homeowners’ satisfaction with the services received during flood insurance claims. SATISFACTION AND SERVICE QUALITY Satisfaction and service quality are two important constructs whose interrelationship has been the subject of much research. In order to understand the two concepts, a consideration of customers’ needs and expectations is essential.