NU Online News Service, may 25, 1:50 p.m. EDT

Auto policy shopping trends between the Baby Boomer Generation and Generation Y vary widely, with only 68 percent of Generation Y citing price as a reason for shopping their policy, compared with 83 percent of Baby Boomer shoppers, according to a survey.

The J.D. Power and Associates "2010 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study," released today, found that Generation Y shoppers require information and validation from multiple sources (four sources, on average) before making an insurance purchase decision, compared with older generations that rely on fewer sources (2.3 sources, on average).

Generation Y and Baby Boomers not only differed in terms of why they shop for auto insurance, but also in the rate at which they change insurers as a result. The study found that:

o Generation Y consumers were less likely to shop because of an advertisement than Baby Boomers, but they were nearly twice as likely to switch insurers when they shopped because of an advertisement, compared with Boomers (15 percent versus 8 percent).

o Generation Y buyers who shopped because of a price concern switched insurers 43 percent of the time, compared with only 31 percent of Baby Boomer shoppers.

o Generation Y shoppers who indicated a desire to purchase auto and homeowners policies from the same insurer switched insurers 58 percent of the time when shopping, compared with only 33 percent of Baby Boomers who wished to buy bundled policies from the same carrier, the survey found.

Price is a key motivator in the insurance shopping process and final purchase decision, but its impact on new-buyer satisfaction has declined, compared with one year ago, according to the study.

The survey found that 41 percent of shoppers cited price as the leading reason they consider an insurer, but do not obtain a quote from that insurer.

In addition, 76 percent of shoppers who obtained a quote from an insurer but did not purchase a policy from that insurer cited price as a reason.

However, price accounted for only 28 percent of overall customer satisfaction with the purchase experience--less important than both policy offerings (29 percent) and distribution channel (43 percent).

"While competitive pricing is critical to closing the sale for most shoppers, insurers must perform on all elements of the purchase experience to gain and retain satisfied customers," Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates said in a statement.

"In fact, past service experiences play a considerable role in the purchase decisions of retained customers, and in some cases, may even outweigh the appeal of a lower-priced competitor," he added.

According to the survey, Erie Insurance, with a score of 886 on a 1,000-point scale, ranked highest among auto insurers in satisfying new buyers with the purchase experience for a third consecutive year. Erie Insurance performed particularly well across all three factors driving satisfaction--distribution channel, price, and policy offerings.

The Hartford ranked second overall with a score of 868, followed closely by Auto-Owners Insurance (867).

The study also found the following key trends among Generation Y auto insurance shoppers (those born between 1977 and 1992):

o Generation Y shoppers tend to be less sensitive to price, as only 68 percent cite price as a reason for shopping for a new auto policy, compared with 83 percent of Baby Boomer shoppers (those born between 1946 to 1964).

o More than one-half (58 percent) of Generation Y shoppers have used insurers' websites to gather information when shopping for auto insurance, compared with 46 percent of Baby Boomer shoppers.

o Generation Y shoppers are substantially more likely to gather quotes directly from an insurer's website-48 percent-compared with 28 percent of Baby Boomers.

o A slight majority (51 percent) of Generation Y new buyers purchased their auto insurance directly from the insurer, rather than through a local agent, compared with only 36 percent of Baby Boomers.

"Generation Y is the next big wave of new homeowners and parents with more complicated insurance needs," Mr. Bowler said. "As a result, it's important for insurers to understand the differences between Generation Y and Baby Boomer insurance shoppers and respond to these differences accordingly. At more than 70 million strong, this group will have a dramatic impact on the insurance distribution landscape in the years ahead."

The 2009 study found that the onset of the recession had slowed consumer shopping in the personal auto insurance market, but consumer shopping rates in the 2010 study mirror the gross domestic product, returning to pre-recession rates prevalent in the third quarter of 2009.

Ten percent of all consumers shopped for competitive quotes during the fourth quarter of 2009.

Special Reports /

Auto Policy Shopping Influenced By Driver Age, J.D. Power Finds

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