Other parts of this series:
My first three blogs on Accenture’s survey of over 22,000 European insurance consumers showcased how their expectations have rapidly changed. Their appetite to engage with insurers through digital channels has rocketed, while demand for personalised services has surged.
Propelled by the impact of COVID-19 on driving behaviour, the growth in consumer demand for personalised automotive insurance was particularly strong: 70 percent expressed an interest in pay-as-you-drive insurance where the less you drive, the less you pay. That compares with 52 percent two years ago.
In addition, 76 percent are interested in automotive insurance where premiums are tied to safe driving. That’s significantly higher than the 54 percent we found two years ago.
Our survey also found a strong appetite for bundled insurance services, where insurance and non-insurance solutions are packaged together – for example, automotive insurance offered at the point that a vehicle is sold. Some 43 percent of Europeans were interested in bundled insurance products, though appetite was much higher among certain consumer segments, with 75 percent of Pioneers interested in these. (My previous blog explains how consumer appetite varies across persona types.)
This desire for personalisation and bundled services aside, consumers have grown more willing to purchase insurance from non-traditional providers: 39 percent would consider buying automotive insurance through a car dealer, compared with 22 percent two years ago.
Guide insurance customers to safety and well-being – Insurance Consumer Study 2021
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What does this mean for insurers? Most importantly, they cannot address these challenges alone. Instead, they must forge partnerships with automotive companies and/or other mobility services companies to create and market products that meet consumers’ new expectations.
Although many insurers realise this, a key question remains: can partnerships be forged that create solutions that benefit the insurer, the partner and, ultimately, the customer?
The simple answer is yes. Below, I’ve outlined some of the most notable partnerships between insurers and automotive companies in Europe in recent years. They provide food for thought for insurers wishing to latch on to consumers’ changing preferences, including by leveraging new technologies like driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicles.
- In 2017, French insurer Groupama partnered with telematics company Scope Technologies and Renault to bring usage-based insurance to the French market for the first time. Drivers of Renault’s electric car, called ZOE, can get discounts on their insurance premiums of up to 36 percent based on their driver behaviour.
- In 2018, insurer Generali Italia and Fiat Chrysler partnered to develop personalised insurance services for connected cars. This includes real-time driving coaching, which immediately alerts drivers to dangerous driving behaviour, and another solution that lets drivers share information about their driving style. This is allowing drivers to benefit from a wide range of usage-based insurance and other digital mobility services.
- In 2020, Toyota Insurance Services partnered with Swiss Re in a deal that sees Toyota make vehicle data available to the insurer via its advanced driving assistance system risk platform for the purpose of risk-scoring. BMW also provides some vehicle data to this platform. The data will enable insurers to establish how driving assistance systems are being used.
- In 2020, Swiss Re and Daimler Insurance Services launched Movinx, a joint venture to develop fully digital automotive and mobility insurance solutions. The partnership aims to develop insurance solutions that support new automotive technologies, such as advanced driving assistance systems and autonomous cars.
- Others have brought a portfolio approach to mobility services. For instance, Baloise Group has invested in 35 ventures across Europe and created five new companies, all of which focus on various forms of mobility services – from car-sharing to fleet maintenance services. Mobly is one of these ventures: it introduced one of the first multi-mobility insurance offerings in Europe, and recently joined forces with Europ Assistance Belgium to launch Moveasy after acquiring VROOM.be, a used-car sales platform, in July 2020.
These partnerships show it’s possible to create partnerships that benefit many stakeholders, including the end-customer. As preferences continue to evolve, as vehicle technology matures and as OEMs increasingly seek to capture more of the motor insurance value space, arrangements like these will become central to insurers’ success.
