What do Irish insurance customers really want?
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Overview
The level of discussion and hype around digital and innovation remain high within the Irish insurance industry. While the market is saturated with opinions on what is possible with respect to re-imagined personal lines products, there is limited fact-based actionable insight on what consumers want.
What we did
We surveyed over 500 Irish customers to investigate which features of home and motor insurance are most attractive.
The results give a clear indication of preferences, with four main themes identified. Insurers can help use these findings to help guide the launch of new products, services and partnerships.
1. Customers want simplicity, flexibility and transparency
Customer needs are changing; survey results show many are reconsidering the value of insurance products, with respondents favouring “Basic” and “Self Controlled & Adjustable” product types over others for both home and motor.
Key takeaways:
- Design and deliver products and services that are easy to understand, engage with and put the customer in control
- Understand how attitudes and preferences vary by segment, and tailor offerings and communications accordingly
- Meet customer expectations by offering new and interesting features that differentiate them
- Put the customer at the core of the design process and get to the root of what drives them and ultimately delights them
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4. Increasing demand for differentiated and innovative propositions
Results show an emerging appetite for more proactive, innovative and parametric features, beyond pure price and coverage.
There is resistance to sharing personal data with insurance companies to enable value adding or other data-based services, even if there is a potential cost reduction involved. Respondents were most reluctant to share data associated with their social media history.
Key takeaways:
- Continue to strengthen and build trusted relationships with customers
- Understand what features different segments will respond to and leverage innovation to target new revenue streams
- Make strategic choices about “where to play” and “how to win”, making conscious decisions in relation to which capabilities are foundational versus those they will invest in to truly differentiate themselves
- Consider quicker routes to market by establishing a clear partnership strategy, collaborating with alliances and ecosystem players to complement existing capabilities
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Conclusion
Results show a marked preference for simplicity and flexibility. The key challenge for insurers going forward will be understanding how they need to phase and prioritise investment to realise business value early while enabling maximum return in the long run.
The “insurer of the future” is customer centric, data rich, multi-channel and agile in terms of their technology, workforce, and ways of working. This can only be enabled through making clear decisions in relation to their underlying capabilities and placing brave bets around their transformation agenda.
