Insurance customers plan to shop around

More than half (53 percent) of global insurance consumers are considering switching to a new insurance provider over the next 12 months and a rapidly growing number plan to buy insurance online, according to findings of an Accenture survey. Survey participants included more than 3,500 consumers in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.  

According to the survey, insurance customers are highly inclined to shop around. Asked whether they plan to renew or purchase insurance products with their current providers, 53 percent of respondents said that they did not or that they were unsure and “plan to look around.”

The survey also indicates that the Internet is gaining significant ground on banks and insurance agents as the preferred channel for buying insurance. While most respondents said they had purchased at least one of their current policies through an agent or bank (59 percent and 33 percent, respectively), a much lower percentage of buyers are planning to do so over the next 12 months (49 percent and 27 percent, respectively). Meanwhile, a substantial minority (34 percent) of consumers has purchased at least one policy online — via insurers’ websites or price-comparison sites — and an even greater percentage (43 percent) plan to do so over the next 12 months.  

According to the survey, the most important criteria consumers use when choosing an insurance provider are speed of problem-resolution, transparent pricing and the availability of products that match their needs (cited by 75 percent, 70 percent and 64 percent of respondents, respectively). Insurance agents are perceived as the best at solving problems in a timely manner and at offering products and services that fit their customers’ needs. Insurers’ websites and aggregators are seen as the channels that have the most transparent pricing, offer the lowest price, are the most accessible when needed and provide the best level of information on the insurance products sold.  

The survey also raised questions about the outlook for bancassurance – the sale of insurance products through banks. Although banks are clearly losing ground to online insurance sales channels, banks hold considerable advantages over insurers, according to the survey. A strong majority of consumers (60 percent) see banks as a preferred “one-stop shop” for financial services products and nearly half (47 percent) think of banks as a preferred financial advisor. Consumers also see banks as more accessible than insurers and they are three times as likely to have weekly or monthly contact with them, according to the survey. Yet the survey results raise questions as to whether banks will be able to further capitalize on the relationship, with only 15 percent of respondents saying they are “sure” they will purchase more insurance products from their bank. Twenty three percent of respondents said they were undecided.  

In other findings as regards consumers surveyed:

•    Nearly one-third (35 percent) of consumers are ready to pay more to get personalized advice or assistance when they are purchasing insurance products.

•    Consumers prefer to purchase property and casualty insurance though online channels and agents (mentioned by 40 percent of respondents), while they favor banks as the channel for purchasing life insurance (mentioned by 32 percent of respondents).

•    Online sales channels are gaining popularity in both life insurance and property & casualty: 12 percent of respondents said they have purchased a life insurance product through an insurance website or an aggregator, and 21 percent plan to purchase online in the next 12 months.

•    Bancassurance is the most popular in Brazil, where more than half of respondents (54 percent) said they expect to purchase or renew their insurance policy through a bank over the next 12 months.

•    Three-quarters (73 percent) of respondents said they are “not very interested” or “not interested at all” in purchasing banking products through an insurance company.  

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