Improvements in customer experience have meant that Indian insurers have been able to retain a higher number of customers in 2019 compared to the previous year.
But insight and consulting company Kantar found that people are finding it difficult to identify key differences between the companies, meaning that building their brand should be a priority going forward.
Spot the difference
In its Annual Life Insurance Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Report 2019, Kantar revealed that customer loyalty to Indian insurers increased to 71% in 2019, from 69% in 2018.
The firm attributed this to younger customers being “more loyal” than their older counterparts, and them also being 1.2 times more financially aware than older customers.
But it also warned that customers struggle to identify differences between the products and services offered by insurers companies across the industry.
This mostly impacts female clients, as the study found that they are more likely to give greater importance to branding when purchasing a life product.
Standing out
As a result, the report recommends that life companies consider different business opportunities to set themselves apart them from their competitors and attract more clients.
“With the changing macroeconomic landscape, life insurance companies are struggling to remain differentiated in the minds of customers,” said Piyali Konar, executive vice president, insights division at Kantar.
“Today, we see [that] brands are no longer differentiated from each other. Customers are loyal to multiple companies at the same time and may shift to an alternate brand when they plan to buy a new policy.
“Thus, developing targeted products, attracting the right customers for those products, and keeping them satisfied are keys to survival.”
Confused purchases
The biggest issue raised by the Kantar report is that 20% of customers are not sure why they need life cover, even though they have already bought one or more products.
The firm argued that this might be an opportunity for providers to create educational tools to inform their customers.
The remaining 80% buy life products for different reasons.
Most use it as a savings instrument and to provide financial security to their family in case of death. But there is a rising number of clients that are using life insurance as a way to save on tax – Kantar found that clients were 2.3 times more likely to do so now, compared to 2012.
The report was based on over 6,500 responses across 13 brands in 15 Indian cities.
