A distinct group of insurance customers focused on digital interactions is emerging from the broader population, presenting an opportunity for savvy insurers to develop the capabilities they seek.
That’s according to Accenture’s The Voice of the Customer: Identifying Disruptive Opportunities in Insurance Distribution report, released last week.
Accenture surveyed more than 32,000 people across 18 markets, bucketing them into three segments based largely on their comfort with insurance in the digital realm. The “Nomad” segment represents “a highly digitally active group, ready for a new model of delivery,” Accenture says.
In contrast with insurance “hunters,” who prioritize price among all else, and “quality seekers,” who are looking for a long-term partner that they trust, the nomad segment “value[s] digital innovation and want[s] new ways of accessing service and advice,” according to Accenture. They are also “ very open to the concept of computer-only advice” in sharp contrast with the other two segments that lean more heavily on agents.
Nomads are particularly attracted to pay-per-use insurance. Four in five are interested in subjecting their auto insurance rates to adjustment based on use, and nearly half are willing to buy coverage online or via mobile for specific temporary needs.
The group is also interested in a full breadth of services from their insurance carriers based on their data, which 63% say they are willing to share. Those services include personal risk-management information, discounts on non-insurance products, and location-aware information such as directions or crime rates.
And they are more willing than any other group to consider other outlets, with three-quarters saying they would be willing to buy insurance from Amazon or Google.
“As the youngest and fastest-growing segment—and therefore the future of the industry— [nomads] need to be taken seriously,” Accenture writes. “To remain relevant and become an everyday insurer, carriers need to change their business model from one that is product- and process-driven to one in which the customer is central, data and analytics drive most decisions and experiences, and the key enablers are advanced technologies and a more strategic management of information.”
