72% of Consumers Would Share Personal Data to Get Cheaper Insurance Premiums

Hyper-personalization, digitalization and consumer education identified as key industry priorities in new global insurance survey from Capco

Increased education around insurance products, the hyper-personalization of insurance offerings, and enhanced digital customer experiences all present opportunities for insurers to improve customer engagement and drive better customer outcomes. In addition, more effective cross-selling can help insurance companies boost brand awareness, enhance retention levels and drive repeat business.

Capco, a global technology and digital consultancy, surveyed almost 14,000 consumers across 13 markets globally to gauge their impressions of insurance products and providers. The survey provides an overview of public attitudes toward consumer insurance, the key products and services used, and emerging trends.

Four key themes have emerged from a preliminary top-line analysis of the survey findings:

1. Hyper-personalization presents an opportunity to drive better products and customer outcomes.

• Nearly three quarters of people would share some form of personal data to get cheaper insurance premiums (72%), whether by using fitness and health tests (33%), home smart devices (32%) and wearable tech such as smartwatches (29%). Among young people (18-24s), this willingness rises to 87%.
• However, only 20% of respondents feel comfortable sharing their social media data.

2. Education is needed to increase consumer knowledge and engagement.

• Over a third of respondents do not feel well informed about insurance and the products available today (37%).
• Lack of industry knowledge is the primary reason that people remain uninsured (28% of uninsured respondents cited this reason), while others deem insurance to be ‘unnecessary’ (cited by 25% of uninsured people).
• The higher their level of education, the more self-assured respondents are about their insurance knowledge. Two thirds (66%) of university-educated respondents felt well-informed about the industry in comparison to 57% of high-school graduates.
• Across 12 of the 13 markets surveyed, female respondents felt less confident about their industry knowledge than male respondents, and the largest ‘confidence gaps’ were found in Belgium (18%), Canada (17%), Germany (13%) and Singapore (13%).

3. Digitalization is driving demand for more sophisticated online services and tools.

• 57% of respondents want a better online experience from their insurer. Respondents in Brazil and APAC are the most eager to embrace the digitalization of insurance.
• 77% of young people (25-44), 69% of youth (18-24), 65% of middle aged (45-64), and 47% of 65+ year-old respondents would use an app to manage their insurance and financial services products.

4. Cross-selling presents an opportunity to boost brand awareness, repeat business and improve retention levels.

• Less than half of insurance customers surveyed (40% globally) have multiple policies with the same provider. In the UK, a very mature insurance market, this figure falls to 24%.
• 66% of people would use an app that gave them better visibility of all their financial products (bank accounts, pensions, insurance policies), in addition to receiving personalized insights.

Matt Hutchins, Global Insurance Lead at Capco, said:

“These initial findings highlight a sizeable consumer demand for the digitalization and personalization of insurance products and services, coupled with better financial insights and lower premiums. Consumers want a more connected customer experience that goes beyond the insurance space into other areas of financial services. Insurers can achieve this by developing digitally focused tools that educate the customer, provide personalized support and financial information.

“The survey also emphasized that different customer segments have different needs and preferences when it comes to the sharing of personal data. Insurers could devise ‘two-way contracts’ to better understand the extent of customer willingness to share data in exchange for more unique usage-based products while providing reassurances regarding the privacy and fair use of data. As the insurance industry becomes increasingly data centric, customer exclusion is a potential downside as not all consumers will benefit from sharing personal data. In time we could see the emergence of more niche insurance offerings to cater for such consumers.”

The full Capco global insurance survey and report, including commentary on individual markets and information about the survey methodology, will be published in the early autumn. If you are interested in receiving a copy of this report and viewing additional insights from Capco’s insurance research please register here.

About Capco

Capco is a global technology and management consultancy specializing in driving digital transformation in the financial services industry. With a growing client portfolio comprising of over 100 global organizations, Capco operates at the intersection of business and technology by combining innovative thinking with unrivalled industry knowledge to fast-track digital initiatives for banking and payments, capital markets, wealth and asset management, insurance, and the energy sector. Capco’s cutting-edge ingenuity is brought to life through its Innovation Labs, and award-winning Be Yourself At Work culture and diverse talent. To learn more, visit www.capco.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn Instagram, and Xing.

Survey methodology

The survey was conducted online in April and May 2021 and collected responses from a total of 13,798 individuals. The markets surveyed were the UK, US, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. Country representative quotas were followed. ​Survey respondents were drawn from six age demographics: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, and 65+. 49% of respondents identified as male, 50% identified as female, and 1% identified as other.

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