A joint worldwide study of insurance customers suggests that the best way carriers can snatch business from rival firms is to focus on buyers who seek coverage information on the Internet.

The findings were made in the 60-page 2008 World Insurance Report by New York-based Capgemini consulting firm and the non-profit European Financial Management & Marketing Association in Paris.

According to the study, there has been a "highly significant" increasing shift to the Internet, and 34 percent of the 11,000 surveyed in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe said that they will buy property insurance online in the next three years.

Half of the people who go online to do research, the study found, ultimately buy their insurance over the Internet.

The report advised that insurers can capture business from competitors if customers can be made to shake their "traditional apathy about switching providers."

It said further that insurers could only "steal a share" if a sizeable number are switching carriers. Switching insurers has been on the increase in the United Kingdom where auto coverage customers switch every three years on average, and property insurance every five.

The most likely targets for switching, the study said, are customers labeled "opportunist" customers, who are described as members of the middle class who have an above-average number of policies and continually scan the market.

About 10-15 percent of the population in the survey were said to be opportunists with that number rising to 25 percent in Germany.

So called "traditionalist" customers, who rarely switch are the mainstay for insurers' dependable income and asset potential, the study said. It suggested that companies should try to use their physical arrangements to provide advice and business development to try to "nudge" traditional customers into using the Internet for purchases.

Product distribution via physical networks is still the dominant method used by insurers.

The report said, "Insurers need to understand when to drive market evolution, and even encourage certain volatile behaviors" and also need "to be more proactive than they have traditionally been in managing their interactions...and work to differentiate their brand and reputation."

It said that that three information technology areas can help insurers succeed, mentioning use of enterprise data warehouses, analytics and customer intelligence to "hone behavioral-driven customer segmentation.

"Technology integration and service-oriented architectures (SOAs) could allow insurers to adapt and change their distribution capabilities according to market dynamics. Next generation customer relationship management (CRM) tools can help insurers and networks to manage customers under a global, enterprise-wide umbrella," the report suggested.

According to the study, the average number of non-life policies per customer in various countries breaks down as follows:

France, 4.6; Switzerland, 4.4; Netherlands, 4; Germany, 3.7; United States, 3.5; Spain, 3.5; Italy, 3.2 and United Kingdom, 2.9.

Special Reports /

To Beat Competition Chase Internet Users, Says Study

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