Ease of transaction and convenience of research are pushing the sales of direct plans of health insurance and motor insurance policies in India, says a survey published by ICICI Lombard General Insurance and Google India. The report said that online purchase of such products is growing across buyers in metros and non-metros.
The survey was done across 18 locations which surveyed over 3000 respondents in the age group of 25-55 years who are primarily internet users. These respondents were a mix of retail and affluent investors. The survey provides insights into how investors are dealing with online purchase of non-life insurance products.
The survey found that 24% and 12% of respondents had bought motor insurance and health insurance policies respectively through online channel. For motor insurance, the behavior was consistent across age group with even the older age band i.e. 46 to 55 preferring to buy/renew motor insurance online. Similarly, in case of health insurance, first time buyers were more willing to buy and renew health insurance online. Also, willingness to buy and renew non-life insurance products online amongst older age group was growing, as most respondents cited convenience as a key factor in transacting online.
In a press release, Sanjay Dutta, Chief Underwriting and Claims, ICICI Lombard General Insurance said, “The survey findings clearly reveal that the online medium is playing a critical role in the purchase of non-life insurance products. Our data reveals that 25% more policy holders buying online opt for family floater policy compared to offline customers. Even in terms of lifetime value and retention, 35% more customers buying health insurance renew their policy in the second year compared to offline customers.”
Vikas Agnihotri, Industry Director, Google India, said “Our studies indicate that internet will influence Rs 300-400K crore worth of insurance sales in India by 2020. Findings from this report clearly outline that consumers are shifting to internet at a more rapid pace than perceived earlier.”
However, a substantial section of respondents use internet to do a research on such policies and still prefer to buy it through agents due to personal contact, better sales service and assistance during claim settlement.
Other key findings:
- Non-metros (15%) are already ahead of metros (8%) for health insurance purchase or renewal online
- Motor insurance purchase behavior is on par across metros (22%) and non-metros (25%)
- Online research and purchase behavior for non-life insurance in non-metros (82%) is on par with metros (85%)
- 47% of health insurance and 38% of motor insurance queries are coming from mobile devices
- Online Insurance purchase is witnessing traction across age groups
- 88% respondents say that brand is the top-most factor influencing online insurance purchase and consideration
- Pricing stands at a distant 6th position among the key influencer parameters