Millennials are driving a higher require for a far more flexible auto insurance coverage market, whilst Infant Boomers are proving new possibilities for independent agents, according to a study from a common agency headquartered in San Diego, Calif.
A study from Personable Common Insurance Agency Inc., titled “Non-Common Auto: Independent Agency Trends Report,” shows the auto insurance coverage market is seeing a key shift in consumer base demographics, most notably in the average age of the largest client groups and their driving qualities.
The report states there are now a higher number of drivers who are Millennials, or these born right after 1980, and older Infant Boomers who were born just before 1964.
The report states: “These will be 2 crucial groups of consumers to monitor over the next decade for independent agents.”
Millennials will require insurers to be especially versatile, or even possibly lessen advertising and marketing efforts to that generation, because they usually live in cities where they work instead of surrounding suburbs like the generations ahead of them.
“They also tend to use much more alternatives to driving, such as public transportation and ridesharing solutions like Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, and so on. These factors, in addition to other existing conditions, have properly lowered the quantity of miles driven by this age group,” the report states.
Automobile miles driven by that age group shrunk by a quarter from 2001 to 2009, according to the report, which also shows adults between the ages of 18 and 34 bought 30 % fewer vehicles than they did in 2007.
While some could see this generation as representing waning chance, Ryan O’Connor, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Personable Insurance coverage, believes this demographic calls for far more innovative insurance coverage products and more flexibility.
“Millennials are an exciting arena proper now,” O’Connor mentioned. “We have a lot of young people who live in downtown areas, like San Diego for example, and barely drive. But they use Uber, Lyft, Sidecar. We require to ask ourselves: ‘Is there a policy that we need to produce for them the flexibility of when, say for example, they’re employing these services, or driving their friend’s automobile?’”
However, the report shows the massive chance for independent agents lies with Child Boomer consumers.
“With the oldest Boomers reaching 68 years of age, there are much more seasoned drivers on the road than ever before, and that quantity will continue to grow for at least the next 2 decades,” the report states.
The report cites statistics from AAA that suggests that almost 25 % of drivers on the road by 2025 will be age 65 or older. Those drivers appear to be modifying their driving behavior based on exiting health-related circumstances and driving capacity to be safer on the roads, the report states.
There were 4,079 drivers age 70 and older involved in fatal crashes in 2012, a 31 percent drop from 1997, according to the report.
Regardless of the possibilities O’Connor pointed to for Millennials, the report advises a targeting shift toward advertising and marketing far more heavily to Child Boomers.
“Considering this info, Child Boomers might be an essential customer group that your agency should concentrate its advertising and marketing efforts on, rather than Millennials, who seem to be shrinking in worth to the independent agent,” the report states.
Infant Boomers are loyal to their auto insurance providers, are much less cost-sensitive and are much more concerned about being correctly insured with a reputable business – they are therefore far more most likely to obtain a a lot more high-priced policy and continue to renew with in the future, the report notes.
Much more standard marketing strategies and a “personal touch” are advisable when advertising to this generation, according to the report.
“You could want to have your agents verify in regularly with these buyers to see if they have further insurance needs, to remind them when their policy is coming up for renewal, or even hand deliver their policy documents to them when proper,” the report states.
The report delves into Walmart and Overstock.com as examples of new huge entries into the insurance marketplace and how that is impacting independent agents, and what they can do about it.
Walmart has partnered with AutoInsurance.com and the coverages for Overstock.com come from key carriers secured by Insuritas. Each have sites that have been developed for direct integration with carriers, enabling customers to evaluate several choices swiftly and easily.
O’Connor said that although it is good for agents to use the latest technology and methods to battle for market share with the huge providers who are increasingly going through direct channels, the ideal factor they can do is to attain out to buyers in individual.
“They can offer that ‘I’m here’ factor,” O’Connor said. “That one particular-to-one is going to assist them keep relevant. Folks nevertheless want to speak to someone, to go in and speak to their producer or agent when they have questions. There’s no discount or ease of use that can beat independent agents’ understanding and individual touch.”
Kristen Nevins, corporate communications specialist for Personable Insurance, advised sharing private experiences with consumers to relate.
“You’re not going to get that when you get a policy quote on the internet,” she mentioned.
Personable Trends Report August 2014
