Insurers “missing out” on £1.3 billion market

Report suggests that it’s time to offer something different to online aggregation websites

Insurance News

By Paul Lucas

The time has come to fight back against comparison websites.

That is the message emanating from a new report by the REaD Group which suggests that UK insurers are missing out on £1.3 billion with more than one in five adult Brits holding no insurance policies.

It shows that London has the highest proportion of uninsured citizens (30%), nearly 8% above the national average. Meanwhile, those living in the East Midlands are the most insured (81%). The findings also reveal a disproportionate amount of students have no insurance (51%), despite being one of the highest risk groups for crime.

So what can we conclude from these results? According to Jon Cano Lopez, the CEO of REaD Group, brand awareness for the traditional insurers is now much lower than the dominant online aggregators with 87% having heard of Gocompare.com and 86% familiar with Comparethemarket.com yet only 24% having heard of RSA and 37% knowing AIG. As such, Lopez believes insurers need to rethink their approach to comparison websites.

“An over reliance on aggregator sites and a failure to understand the individual needs of UK consumers is significantly impacting customer acquisition and retention in the insurance sector,” he said.

“In order to establish long term, profitable relationships with consumers, insurance companies need to consider moving away from aggregator sites, changing their current policy centric models, and begin marketing to consumers based on their individual needs and attitudes.

“Our research shows that there are huge swathes of the UK population that aren’t being targeted in a way that is engaging or meaningful to them, resulting in a missed opportunity worth billions. Insurers must understand who these consumers are and offer them long-term solutions that are reflective of their individual needs and attitudes.”

Also of note was that 33% of UK adults say the process of buying insurance is confusing and believe that insurance companies do not communicate effectively.


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