The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating the use of digital platforms in India, supplying insurance coverage organizations a very important new pathway to connect with and serve buyers. Consumer surveys and sales information this year show that the pandemic has swiftly raised public awareness about each overall health danger and insurance coverage in India – and insurance coverage purchases are shifting swiftly to on the internet modes, reveals the most recent Swiss Re study.
According to the study, supportive government policies and a COVID-enforced spike in digital activity are pushing customers – and their insurance coverage desires – on the internet. The expanding presence of e-commerce and digital wallet apps presents possibilities for revolutionary partnerships amongst insurers and digital platforms to bridge the $369-billion overall health protection gap in India.
The survey benefits underline Indian consumers’ in depth use of digital platforms and their preference to acquire insurance coverage by way of them. Around 65% of Indian respondents are most likely to use digital channels such as e-wallets, bank or insurance coverage internet sites and e-commerce platforms to acquire insurance coverage in the future, indicating there is possible for principal insurers to move their offerings on the internet and engage new digital customers.
The Swiss Re Institute study, titled “Going Digital – Insights to Optimise Consumer Appetite for Online Insurance”, surveyed 1,800 customers in India, Indonesia and Malaysia in June 2020 to have an understanding of their attitudes toward digital platforms and perceptions of getting insurance coverage on the internet. The survey also tested their acceptance of picking and buying six life and overall health insurance coverage goods tailored to match digital platforms. The 3 Asian economies represent a combined population of more than 1.5 billion individuals, with a burgeoning middle class increasingly dependent on technologies and connectivity to drive their selection producing.
Survey respondents had been household selection-makers aged between18 and 65 and had employed digital platforms at least after inside 3 to six months prior to getting surveyed. These digital platforms include things like e-commerce apps/internet sites, payment/ digital wallet apps, overall health-tracking apps, connected commuter platforms, amongst other folks.
“Health and safety measures intended for curbing the spread of COVID-19 have now driven a clear paradigm shift towards digitalisation in the post-virus era,” stated Hadi Riachi, Market Head, Swiss Re India, adding, “With an increasing number of digital platforms extending their business reach into financial services, insurers need to adapt their business models to become more relevant and responsive to the latest customer needs.”
“There is also an opportunity to reduce the digital divide by adding more 3G, 4G and even 5G connectivity across India to change consumer behaviour, and this includes how they purchase insurance. Three quarters of rural India have mobile phone connectivity, according to an Indian government survey last year,” stated Hadi. “We have the opportunity to leverage technology to make insurance more accessible to those underserved in our society, helping them and their families to reduce their health protection gap.”
Increasing receptiveness to get insurance coverage digitally
The survey benefits indicate that digital platforms have higher penetration price in India, with an typical of 90% making use of these channels at least after a week.
Among them, digital payment apps such as Paytm are most well-known, employed by 85% of Indian respondents at least after a week, closely followed by overall health-tracking apps (84%), e-commerce apps and internet sites (76%) and connected commuter platforms (69%).
Digital wallet and e-commerce apps are most appropriate for on the internet insurance coverage distribution
There is also a expanding trend in searching for insurance coverage details and getting insurance coverage digitally. Traditional channels, such as agents, brokers or insurance coverage aggregators are nevertheless the principal channels for insurance coverage-connected details searches in India. However, 65% of respondents in India expressed interest in making use of on the internet channels to acquire insurance coverage.
Among the various varieties of digital platforms, customers in India indicated a stronger preference towards buying insurance coverage by way of payment/digital wallet and e-commerce platforms. This preference is driven by the respondents’ trust in the platforms exactly where payment/digital wallet apps had been rated as most credible, followed by bank and insurer web page or apps, and e-commerce platforms.
Combining on the internet and offline buyer help will be essential
When respondents had been asked why they want to acquire insurance coverage digitally, ease of application and obtaining the ideal premium prices are the major factors across 3 markets. However, respondents also expressed different issues when getting insurance coverage on the internet. 45% of Indian respondents come across it really hard to choose on the ideal item though 37% stated there is no agent to aid clarify the terms.
“Our survey results reveal that while digital insurance is becoming more popular, offline support is still necessary due to the need for guidance and assistance for certain products. It is important for insurers to adopt an omni-channel approach to complement online customer journey with personal assistance to address consumer concerns.” stated Hadi.
Strong preference for easier crucial illness and health-related reimbursement insurance coverage on digital platforms
The survey tested six hypothetical life and overall health goods to gauge customer interest in insurance coverage presented by way of various digital channels. They include things like health-related reimbursement insurance coverage, cancer reimbursement insurance coverage (to cover cancer-connected health-related expenditures), crucial illness spend-per-use insurance coverage, cancer insurance coverage (pays a lump sum upon cancer diagnosis), hospitalisation money – parametric haze/ smog protection and revenue protection for gig workers.
The benefits show that Indian customers (almost 80%) are strongly inclined to acquire hospitalisation money and crucial illness spend-per-use insurance coverage by way of digital platforms, but the other 4 goods also have somewhat higher levels (more than 70%) of interest.
Opportunities for insurers and digital platforms to leverage insurance coverage options
The survey illustrates partnership possibilities amongst insurers and digital platforms that will advantage the whole insurance coverage worth chain and unlock demand from new insurable danger pools.
Partnering and working with digital platforms and ecosystems will give insurers access to millions of customers that are generally below-protected. Insurers must leverage information collected from the platforms, such as overall health tracking apps, for personalised wellness programmes and a more holistic danger assessment by incorporating life-style variables like physical activity and sleep. This could transform life and overall health insurance coverage, exactly where dangers evolve more than time and person behaviours influence overall health outcomes.
Meanwhile, digital platforms can advantage from enterprise diversification and stronger buyer loyalty by supplying monetary services on the internet. Partnerships across industries can also present digital platform experience in various domains at low price of failure and minimal danger to their mainstream offerings