More than two thirds of customers would consider purchasing home, auto and life insurance from businesses other than insurers, according to Accenture's "Customer-Driven Innovation Survey," with 23% of customers open to purchasing from online service providers like Google or Amazon.
The 6,000 survey respondents, who could select multiple choices, said they also would buy insurance from banks (43%), home service providers such as telecommunication or home security companies (20%), retailers (14%) and car dealers (12%).
Lower prices and more personalized service are the top reasons for consumers to switch to a new insurer, the survey reports, and customers between the ages of 18 to 34 are most likely to switch insurance providers. Personalization is a key driver to retaining existing clients and attracting new ones.
Accenture estimates that up to $400 billion in insurance premiums for the home/auto/life segments could change hands within the insurance industry during the next 12 months.
"The switching economy represents a huge opportunity for many insurers to gain market share," said Michael Lyman, global managing director for managing consulting within Accenture's insurance industry practice.
Click through the slides to learn three key details from the survey about young insurance customers, personal data revelations and the mobile channel.
Younger Customers More Likely to Switch Insurance Providers, Pay More for Specialized Services
Forty-eight percent of customers between 18 to 24 years and 51% of customers between the ages of 25 to 34 years say they are somewhat or very likely to switch to another insurance provider within the next 12 months. This compares to 40% of the population between 35 to 54 years and just 28% of respondents older than 55 years.
Price matters less to customers under the age of 35, as long as they receive more value. Fifty-four percent of customers between 18 to 24 years and 52% of customers between 25 to 34 years are probably or certainly willing to pay more for personalized service, compared to customers between 35 to54 years (37%) and those older than 55 years (27%).
Personalized services include gamification, a huge draw for the population who grew up with Nintendo. Games that simulate real-life situations and address risks that impact insurance prices entice this segment, with 67% of the younger crowd expressing interest.
Customers Willing to Provide Personal Data
More than one-third of respondents are open to providing access to their usage and behavior information, if that offers more personalized products and better value.
"As consumers become more open to providing access to their personal data, adoption of usage-based insurance enabled by telematics technology will accelerate," Lyman said.
Customers express high interest in tailored services that reduce rates. These include premiums based on car usage (77%), education (73%) and home alarms or cameras (62%).
Take Customer Experience to Next Level Through the Mobile Channel
More than two-thirds of customers are interested in mobile insurance services—such as sending pictures of their cars to report claims or displaying proof of insurance on mobile devices.
Thirty-seven percent of customers have used a smartphone to deal with their insurers and 46% have used their tablets to interact with insurers in the past 2 years. Most commonly, customers use their mobile devices to receive information on insurance products and services, get advice, obtain quotes and update personal details.
"Travel insurance-suggested offers can be sent to customers' mobile phones when landing in an airport abroad, or a claim can be submitted from an accident scene with supporting photos," Lyman said.
"Competition in the insurance industry could quickly intensify as consumers become open to buying insurance not only from traditional competitors such as banks but also from Internet giants"
Related: Read "Small Businesses at Biggest Risk in Using Mobile Payment"
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