The Voice of the Customer – Insurance Survey by Ernst & Young

I met up with Russel Lok, a partner with Ernst & Young in Singapore, earlier in the week. He mentioned that his firm had recently completed a survey of consumers on insurance and recommended I take a look at it.

The full reports (see below for links) are definitely worth a read. Here are some of the findings, generally quoted verbatim from the report, that I find interesting and relevant in the context of digital insurance.

For Life insurers:

• Among the rapidly growing number with internet access, there is a very significant increase in customers who are conducting their own research and who expect clear and transparent information from insurers
• With some notable exceptions, customers in most markets surveyed perceive that insurers do very little to try to retain their business. Accompanying this perception is a desire among customers for more, and improved, communication from insurers (as opposed to agents or intermediaries)
• Customers perceive that the insurance industry is falling behind other consumer-focused businesses in rewarding loyal customers

For Non-Life insurers:

• Consumers in Asia-Pacific highlight that, for them, insurers need to have an integrated multichannel distribution platform.Increasingly, this platform will include a fully transactional online presence but not one that operates in isolation of other channels
• Somewhat surprisingly, yet consistent with other parts of the globe, consumers expect great claims service, but this will not guarantee their loyalty. However, failing to deliver a great claims experience will drive consumers to switch, which is important in a region where in non-life consumers do not switch insurers lightly
• Where consumers do switch insurers, they say that more could have been done to retain them and that they would prefer to buy multiple products from the same insurer if it is convenient and represents good value

Insurers can be more consumer centric

 The Digital Insurer’s view is that these findings should act as a wake-up call, if it is really needed, for the industry to start engaging with their customers digitally. The discussions between senior managers need to move quickly beyond the “why” to the “how” and perhaps even more importantly ” how quickly”.

 The Asia-Pacific survey

The Global survey