The majority of people globally between 18 and 34 would be willing to let insurance companies dig through their digital data from social media to health devices if it meant lowering their premiums, a survey shows.
In the younger group, 62 percent said they’d be happy for insurers to use third-party data from the likes of Facebook, fitness apps and smart-home devices to lower prices, according to a survey of more than 8,000 consumers globally by Salesforce.com Inc.’s MuleSoft Inc. That drops to 44 percent when the older generations are included.
MuleSoft, provider of the leading platform for building application networks, today released “Consumer Connectivity Insights 2018,” a survey of more than 8,000 consumers globally to analyze whether organizations are meeting customer expectations for a connected, personalized experience across industries and geographies.
Of the older generations, 45 percent of 35- to 54-year-olds are happy to allow insurers broad access to their digital identity, while 27 percent of those 55 and older would do so.
It was also found that 30% have given up on interacting with an insurance company because the information sharing process was too difficult.
Geographically, customers in Singapore (63%) and the US (49%) were happiest for insurers to use social media and internet of things (IoT) data, while those in the UK (36%) were least open to the concept, according to research by MuleSoft, provider of a platform for building application networks. In between were customers from Australia (42%), Germany (41%) and the Netherlands (38%).
The report also says that insurance providers could do a lot more to improve their existing processes (from start to finish) to make them more efficient and customer centric. Nearly half (46%) of consumers believe that applying for an insurance policy should take no longer than an hour, and 56% said renewing an insurance policy should not take no more than an hour either.
Overall, a number of consumers stated that they had to re-submit or restate previously provided information, highlighting that inefficiency remains in the insurance sector.
As consumers share more of their personal data online, governments increased their scrutiny of how it’s collected and used following the harvest of 61 millions Facebook users’ accounts by U.K. firm Cambridge Analytica. The European Union’s new privacy law, known as the General Data Protection Rules, took effect on May 25.
Insurers are investing millions improving their digital offerings amid growing competition from fintech startups. But that’s a work in progress: 58 percent of the survey’s respondents said that systems don’t work seamlessly for them, with many citing difficulty filling out a form online. And 56 percent said they would switch their insurance provider if digital service is poor.
“Insurers are already struggling to deliver a connected experience,” said Jerome Bugnet, EMEA client architect at MuleSoft. That is happening “before even considering how they bring all these new data sources into the equation.”
Almost half (44%) of insurance customers around the world are happy for insurers to use data from social media companies and health monitoring applications in return for cheaper premiums.
The report found that customer loyalty is at risk for organizations unable to provide seamless experiences across all channels and timely access to information.
The total sample size for the survey was 8,019 adults: UK (2,004 adults), US (2,002 adults), Germany (1,001 adults), Netherlands (1,002 adults), Australia (1,010 adults) and Singapore (1,000 adults). Fieldwork was undertaken online between 3-9 April 2018.