20 Stats on the State and Future of the Insurance Customer Experience

In a fast changing and increasingly competitive industry, insurance carriers must put the customer experience at the center of their business strategy in order to improve customer loyalty and compete with insurtechs. Here are 20 statistics illustrating that the future of insurance depends on customer experience:

Customer Experience is Important to Digital Insurers

• 45% of insurers say that changing customer expectations is the business driver triggering investments in new technologies. – Strategy Meets Action 

• 85% of insurers say that customer engagement and experience is a top strategic initiative in 2016. – Strategy Meets Action 

The Current State of Insurance

• Only 22% of insurers have launched personalized, real-time digital or mobile services. – Accenture

• Customer churn because of declining loyalty and poor customer experiences represents as much as $470 billion Life and Property & Casualty premiums globally. – Accenture Strategy Report 

• Less than one-third (29%) of insurance customers are satisfied with their current providers. – Accenture Strategy Report 

• Although many consumers are purchasing insurance products online, only 15% said they are satisfied with their insurers’ digital experience. – Propertycasualty360 

• More than 30% of customers who endured a bad claims experience switched insurers within a year of the incident. – Forrester 

• In the past five years, US auto insurance carriers that have provided customers with consistently best-in-class experiences have generated two to four times more growth in new business and about 30% higher profitability than firms with an inconsistent customer focus, in part because satisfied customers are 80% more likely to renew their policies than unsatisfied customers. – McKinsey 

• More than 80% of shoppers now touch a digital channel at least once throughout their shopping journey. –  McKinsey 

• Almost 75% of customers who attempted to purchase insurance online reported a myriad of problems. – Accenture

• Among the customers who attempted to file a homeowners claim online, the process failed for 14%, and 52% still had to contact their insurers in other ways. That resulted in 39% of those policyholders complaining that their insurers’ online process was “not easy.” – Accenture

• 21% of insurance customers say that providers do not tailor their customer experiences at all. – Accenture

• Only 16% of customers said they would definitely buy more products from their current insurance provider. – Insurance Journal

• In addition, only 27% of policyholders have a high estimation of their insurance providers’ trustworthiness. – Insurance Journal 

Customer Preferences

• 23% of respondents said they would consider buying insurance from online service providers. – Insurance Journal

• 88% of insurance customers demand more personalization from providers – Accenture

• 77% of customers are willing to exchange personal data for lower premiums, faster claims settlements or more tailored insurance coverage recommendations. – Accenture

• Nearly half (47%) of the survey respondents said they want more online interactions with their insurers. In the past six months, half of P/C consumers purchased a policy online, with 41% using a mobile phone to make their purchase. – Insurance Journal

• 81% of customers want to be able to manage their investments online, 52% want to be able to make a complaint online, and 28% want to make an appointment to visit a financial adviser online. – Accenture 

• 61% of insurance customers in the United Kingdom, 76% in Germany and 79% in Spain say their insurer choice is influenced by the quality of the carrier’s claims-handling and customer service. – Accenture