The findings of a recent Accenture consumer survey neatly sum up the growth challenge facing insurers:
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26 percent of customers say they have no loyalty to their insurance providers
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Up to 32 percent say they are likely to stop doing business with at least one of their insurance providers “in the next 12 months”
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26 percent would definitely shop around for better deals
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75 percent believe there is no significant difference in the products and services offered by insurance companies
Weak loyalty, a lack of differentiation and a growing reluctance to accept indifferent service are driving customers into the market. Once there they are, to an increasing degree, buying on price—a trend accelerated by the proliferation of simpler, more commoditized products which vie to be the cheapest on the market. While this might attract new customers and generate new revenue, it does so at the cost of the carrier’s operating margins, its combined operating ratio and its return on equity. And it only works until the competition follows suit.
Clearly, an alternative approach is needed, one that meets the growing demands of customers, positions the carrier prominently within a poorly differentiated marketplace, and allows it to command a premium for its products.
To gain a better understanding of how customer attitudes, expectations and behavior with regard to insurance have changed—the kinds of experience they are seeking today—Accenture recently commissioned an extensive worldwide survey2. And to learn how insurers are responding to these changes, we undertook a separate survey of more than 100 C-level insurance executives.
Together, the findings reveal an industry in the process of reinventing itself.
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