Buying insurance online on an upward trend

MUMBAI: Online purchase of non-life insurance products in India is growing across buyers in metros and non-metros as per a joint report compiled by Google India and ICICI Lombard General Insurance. The adoption was higher for motor insurance with 24% users buying these policies online, whereas 12% users had purchased 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.

These findings were revealed on the basis of an offline survey of 3007 respondents who were active Internet users, spread across 18 cities in India in the age group of 25 to 55.

Key findings of the survey are:

• Internet users in the age group of 25 to 35 were the most active in buying non-life insurance products online.
• Users in the age group 46 to 55 preferred to buy/renew motor insurance online. Ease of purchase and convenience were the primary drivers for buying motor insurance online.
• First time buyers were more willing to buy and renew health insurance online.
• Consumer behavior for research and purchase across desktop and mobile was similar with 80% users having accessed the internet for insurance related search/ purchase through the desktop/ laptop, while a higher 85% doing so through the mobile/ tablet. This clearly indicates that consumers tend to shift between devices during the research phase.
• For online purchase of health and motor insurance products, respondents cited ‘Brand’ as the most influential factor for finalizing their decision with 88% of the respondents saying that reputation of the company influenced their purchase whereas 67% influenced by word of mouth.

In terms of barriers to purchase non-life insurance products online, personal contact with an agent and better post sales service were cited as the key reasons for not using the Internet. Customers preferred an agent particularly for claim settlements and policy receipts.