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Look Towards A New Future

Aug 17, 2010

UK Personal Insurance Distribution 2010 now available at ReportsandReports

Dallas, TX: ReportsandReports announce Japanese UK Personal Insurance Distribution 2010 Market Research Report in its Store.

Browse complete UK Insurance Market Report

This report provides an analysis of the distribution of personal insurance in the UK. It includes information on the advertising spend and market share of the key players and analyzes the effect of online aggregators in the personal lines sector. It also details notable deals made over the past year and explores the evolving balance between the various distribution channels.

Scope

  • Insight into the latest issues affecting the personal insurance market and the impact these are having on distribution.
  • Data on consumer purchasing behavior and brand loyalty in the UK household and private motor insurance markets, sorted by key demographic groups.
  • The latest data on the size of the personal insurance market and premium splits by distribution channel.
  • Forecasts up to 2014 of the market share of different channels in the UK private insurance space.

Highlights

As of March 2010, the internet was the most popular platform for arranging motor insurance overall, with more than half of all respondents stating that they had used the platform. This highlights consumers’ confidence in arranging the policies and other financial transactions online without assistance.

Overall, the top 10 insurance advertisers spent 1.1% less on advertising in 2008 compared to 2007, dipping from £216.4m overall to £214.0m. This was perhaps indicative of the effect the economic recession had on the insurance sector as a whole, rather than due to a specific trend.

Carole Nash insures 300,000 motorcycles, which equates to about a quarter of all licensed bikes in the UK. Since acquiring more than 17,000 policies from the AA in 2004, Carole Nash has been purchasing motorcycle books from those who do not consider them a core product.

Reasons to Purchase

  • Understand consumer purchasing patterns and their attitudes to brand awareness and aggregators.
  • Make decisions based on consumers’ use of different platforms for personal insurance arrangement and the shifting trends within the market.
  • Gain insight into the factors driving changes in distribution and how this is linked to modern technology.

Table of Contents

Overview

Catalyst

Summary

Executive Summary

The direct channel gained market share, while brokers saw their share decline

The direct channel remains the dominant provider of private motor insurance

Banks and building societies hold the largest share of the UK home insurance market

The top 10 advertisers increased their expenditure compared to 2008

The vast majority of consumers use the internet or telephone to arrange their motor insurance cover

Half of all consumers arrange their motor insurance over the internet

Consumers aged between 25 and 34 are more likely to arrange their motor insurance online

The broker channel has been gradually growing its household insurance market share

Brokers distributed an estimated 28% of the private motor insurance GWP in 2009

Brokers hold a growing share of the home insurance market

Banks and building societies lost personal insurance market share in 2009

Bancassurers hold the largest share of the UK household insurance market

The presence of affinities has decreased in the UK home and motor insurance markets

Affinity groups and retailers saw a slight dip in their private motor market share from 2008

Fortis procures significant partnerships to provide Tesco and Toyota with home and motor insurance

Over 60% of consumers use an aggregator when purchasing motor insurance

A sizeable proportion of aggregator visitors use them for research purposes only

Table of Contents

Table of figures

Table of tables

Personal Insurance Distribution Dynamics

Introduction

The direct channel gained market share, while brokers saw their share decline

The direct channel remains the dominant provider of private motor insurance

The broker channel is the second largest distributor of private motor insurance

Corporate partnerships witnessed their share contract in the private motor market

The banks and building societies market share is diminishing

Banks and building societies hold the largest share of the UK home insurance market

The majority of home cover sales can be attributed to banks and building societies

Brokers closed the market share gap with the bancassurers in 2008 and 2009

The direct channel retains a level share of the household insurance market

Partnerships share of the UK home insurance market has declined

The vast majority of home and motor insurance policies are distributed through the top 10 groups and brands

Thirteen of the largest insurance groups hold the majority of both the home and motor insurance markets

Direct Line is particularly popular among younger consumers for private motor insurance

Older consumers are more likely to select a home insurance policy targeted at their age group

Direct Line’s and Halifax’s combined contents and buildings insurance policies are particular popular among younger consumers

Home contents insurance providers showed little age to market correlation, aside from RIAS and Saga

Consumers aged 18-24 were most likely to arrange buildings only home insurance policies through a top ten distributor

Two aggregators appeared in the top 10 advertisers in 2009

The top 10 advertisers increased their expenditure compared to 2008

RBS brands Direct Line and Churchill were two of the top three insurance advertisers in 2009

Zurich Insurance became a top 10 advertising spender after more than doubling its advertising spending in 2009

Acromas Group insurers decreased their advertising spend in 2009

Aviva resumes its high advertising spend from 2007

The top insurance advertisers spent half their budgets on television advertising in 2009

While TV advertising remains the medium eliciting the most expenditure, direct mail has increased in prominence as an advertising platform

Saga and HomeServe spent the most on direct mail advertising

Press, radio and the internet were used to a lesser extent in insurance advertising

Personal Insurance Consumers

Introduction

Home and motor insurance remain the largest potential pools of customers for personal lines insurers

The sizable market for private motor insurance included a larger and more even penetration spread than in 2008

Middle-aged and older consumers are more likely to have motor cover, perhaps necessitating a more universal strategic focus than before

Motor insurance consumers with higher incomes have higher penetration rates

The social grade of consumers has less bearing on the likelihood of arranging motor insurance

Combined household insurance is the most popular type of product sold to consumers

There is a healthy market for home insurance products

Consumers over the age of 55 are the largest target market for combined policies

Higher income households have higher penetration rates for combined home insurance and buildings only cover

Consumers belonging to socio-economic groups A and B display consistently higher penetration rates for combined household products

The vast majority of consumers use the internet or telephone to arrange their motor insurance cover

Half of all consumers arrange their motor insurance over the internet

Internet and telephone sales are becoming increasingly prevalent in the home insurance market

Internet sales strategies would prove more effective than telephone sales for younger personal insurance policy buyers

Consumers aged between 25 and 34 are more likely to arrange their motor insurance online

The telephone surpasses the internet as the most popular platform for arranging home contents insurance

Consumers aged over 64 prefer to use the phone to arrange their insurance policies, whereas other groups prefer to use the internet

Internet-based sales strategies are effective at targeting higher income households

To a point, higher income consumers are more comfortable purchasing their motor insurance cover online

Internet selling strategies for combined home insurance should remain the core method of targeting consumers with household incomes over £30,000

Consumers are generally more likely to purchase their home contents insurance over the telephone

The internet was the most popular method of motor insurance arrangement

Consumers belonging to socio-economic group E displayed the lowest tendency to purchase their motor insurance online

A and E consumers prefer to purchase their combined policy over the telephone

The telephone is the preferred platform for arranging home contents insurance policies

Insurance providers’ retention rates vary with age and type of insurance

Older consumers are generally more likely to stay with their existing insurance company

Consumers aged under 34 displayed the least loyalty to their insurance providers

Consumers aged 45-64 are more likely to stay with the same home contents insurance provider at renewal

Retention rates for combined home insurance peak with middle-aged consumers

Wealthier consumers are the least loyal to their home insurance providers

Motor insurance consumers displayed a similar level of switching among all income bands

Consumers earning less than £15,000 are least likely to change their combined insurance provider

Consumers with a household income of £75,000-99,999 are the most loyal to their home contents insurance policy providers

Price should be the primary focus in insurance marketing campaigns

Price was the most commonly cited reason for selecting a motor insurance provider

Insurance companies should emphasize competitive prices when marketing their combined policies

While price remains the dominant attraction for insurance buyers, older consumers are more likely to consider other factors

Although it remains the key factor, older consumers of motor insurance are less concerned about price

Older consumers increasingly value non-price factors when choosing their home insurance providers

Direct Insurance

Introduction

Direct insurers have a growing share of the private motor market

Direct insurers have experienced an increase in their market share in private motor cover since 2006

Direct insurers hold a level share of the household market

The top direct insurers significantly increased their overall advertising budget

Advertising spend on motor and travel insurance decreased, while expenditure on other forms of general insurance increased by varying amounts

All forms of media advertising saw increased direct insurer funding, apart from cinema campaigns

Direct Line remained the top direct insurance advertiser in 2009, albeit by a smaller margin

Direct Line still dominates most areas of motor and home insurance

The top five direct insurers comprised over a quarter of the motor insurance market

Direct insurers consistently form the top five players in the home insurance market

Direct insurers continued to launch new products in a bid to their grow market share

AXA launched a new direct motor cover product

Zurich launched its new Zurich Connect product

Fortis will rebrand itself to Ageas

RBS Insurance is to sell Direct Line and Churchill within a few years

esure has undergone a management buy-out from the Lloyds Banking Group

Brokers and Intermediaries

Introduction

The broker channel has been gradually growing its household insurance market share

Brokers distributed an estimated 28% of the private motor insurance GWP in 2009

Brokers hold a growing share of the home insurance market

The main focus of broker insurance advertising was via direct mail

The top 10 brokers allocated most of their advertising budget on private motor and home insurance marketing

Brokers continue to display a marketing strategy that is primarily focused around the direct mail platform

The AA cut its advertising spend, while RIAS significantly increased its budget

The AA dominated over other insurance brokers in both home and motor insurance

The AA was the market leader for broker-distributed private motor insurance

The broker household insurance market is dominated by AA, RIAS and Swinton

The broker sector has seen a number of big structural changes over the last year

LV Broker makes full use of its broking relationships

Brightside purchased eCar and eBike for up to £34.6m

Allianz Clear launches and incorporates a home insurance aggregator

Swinton increased its online sales effort

Castle Cover adds Zenith insurance to its panel

Carole Nash wins the Co-operative motorcycle book

Banks and Building Societies

Introduction

Banks and building societies lost personal insurance market share in 2009

Bancassurers held an estimated 5% share in the private motor market in 2009

Bancassurers hold the largest share of the UK household insurance market

Spending by the leading bancassurance advertisers decreased in 2009

Bank insurers more than tripled their spend on marketing their general/combined range, despite overall cuts to their budgets

In 2009, banks showed a slight swing toward a more contemporary mass-market advertising strategy

Half the top 10 bancassurers showed an increase in advertising budget in 2009

Banks hold a significant proportion of the home insurance market, but only have a small presence in motor insurance

Bancassurers have a diminished and negligible market presence in motor insurance

Lloyds Banking Group controls a significant share of the UK home insurance market

Barclays will continue to distribute Aviva home insurance

Despite decreased consumer confidence, bancassurers are still targeted by insurers as a means to growth

Barclays will continue to distribute Aviva home insurance

RSA will provide West Bromwich BS with household insurance policies

Affinity Groups and Retailers

Introduction

The presence of affinities has decreased in the UK home and motor insurance markets

Affinity groups and retailers saw a slight dip in their private motor market share from 2008

Affinities make up an estimated 15% of total UK household insurance GWP

The top affinity insurance advertisers increased their budget in 2009

A third of the insurance products advertised by the top 10 affinity insurance advertisers are niche lines

The top 10 affinity insurance advertisers use direct mail campaigns to effectively leverage their customer databases

While most of the top 10 affinity insurance advertisers decreased their advertising spend in 2009, their overall expenditure increased

Affinity partnerships comprise almost 10% of the general insurance market

The top five brandassurers hold a lower market share than in 2008

Affinity partnerships have the largest share in the combined policy market

A number of influential affinity partnerships were formed in the last year

Fortis procures significant partnerships to provide Tesco and Toyota with home and motor insurance

Kwik-Fit has sold off its insurance wing to Fortis

Carole Nash wins an insurance deal with Harley Davidson

Thornside to provide Sainsbury’s pet insurance

Heath Lambert wins Debenhams deal

Aggregators and Price Comparison Sites

Introduction

Over 60% of consumers use an aggregator when purchasing motor insurance

A sizeable proportion of aggregator visitors use them for research purposes only

Insurance aggregator advertising has become a four-horse race

Only negligible amounts were spent on aggregator advertising outside of the top four

More than three-quarters of the top four aggregators’ advertising budget was spent on motor insurance cover

The leading four aggregators are highly dependant on TV advertising

The aggregator market is innovative and highly competitive

MoneySupermarket.com’s revenue declined in 2009

MSN and BeatThatQuote.com have launched a new comparison site

Future Decoded

Introduction

The direct channel in the private motor insurance market is predicted to contract after 2011

The direct channel has shown consistent growth since 2007

Brokers are predicted to lose market share until 2011 and thereafter regain it

Affinity partnerships are forecast to gradually increase their market share over the next five years

As consumer confidence in the banking sector improves, bancassurers will gain market share in private motor insurance distribution

Banks and building societies are predicted to remain the dominant provider of UK household insurance

The direct channel is expected to see an increase in market share during the forecast period

Bancassurers are predicted to retain the largest share of the UK household insurance market

Brokers are expected to see a decline in market share from around 2011

Affinity partnerships will gradually increase their market share in UK household insurance

Appendix

Definitions

Premium income measures

Earned premiums

Gross premium

Net premium

Written premiums

Distribution definitions

Bancassurers

Banks/building societies

Brandassurers

Broker

Company staff

Direct channel

‘Other’ company agents

Partnerships

Methodology

Datamonitor General Insurance Consumer Survey

Primary and secondary research

Distribution estimates and forecast methodology

Advertising and marketing spend data

Further reading

Ask the analyst

Datamonitor consulting

Disclaimer

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Related Reports:

UK Personal Insurance Distribution 2009

Distribution in UK Personal General Insurance 2008

UK Commercial Insurance Distribution 2010

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