The recent high-profile survey of global insurance buyers showed strong interest in innovative add-on products and usage-based insurance, pointing insurers in the direction of global and regional opportunities, says Matthew Priestley, Director of Solution Architecture at Duck Creek Technologies
Innovating products and customer service is critical for insurers to remain agile, react intelligently and keep their offerings evolving, engaging and evergreen.
Results from the Global Consumer Insurance Insights Survey – which was conducted independently by Research in Finance and asked 2,000 consumers their view on a range of insurance-related issues – offer tantalising insights for insurers looking to hone in on what consumers are looking for.
Gaps in insurance penetration
Results showed that there was a stark lack of insurance penetration globally beyond the traditional motor, home and life insurance staples – but consumers expressed a strong interest in add-on insurance products and usage-based insurance. Most respondents show a preference for this type of cover for a specific one-off activity.
Currently usage-based insurance in many markets is focused on motor insurance with premiums built on data / telematics, artificial intelligence and machine learning. This provides fair and transparent pricing based on the driving habits of each insured customer – with the most pioneering insurers rewarding good, responsible driving.
The global pandemic has shifted consumer expectations of insurance and focused the spotlight on usage-based insurance propositions as consumers weigh the value of annual policies that they don’t use all year round.
Significant scope for growth
Similarly, there was strong interest in add-on product insurance, with analysis of the survey results pointing to significant scope for growing add-on insurance propositions to make them relevant and appealing at the point a consumer purchases a device or product that could benefit from this type of cover.
This highlights a potential awareness gap around non-traditional types of insurance, such as gadget and mobile phone insurance that insurers could harness to connect with digitally-savvy consumers, and ensure they are receiving the most relevant information about products and services available above and beyond the core motor and home insurance staples.
Respondents to the survey also expressed interest in innovative reward-based thinking around claims, raising the issue of rewarding policyholders who do not file a claim – an interesting concept that some insurers are already exploring.
Clearly insurers that have implemented evergreen modern core systems and cloud-based architecture are able to be more agile when it comes to testing new ideas and refining new products and innovations for global and regional target audiences. It is this agility in reacting intelligently to consumer insights and demand that will carve out success in our competitive market.
Download the Global Consumer Insurance Insights whitepaper to see the full results and analysis.
