Of Special Interest
- "It's All About the Customer" the theme for the latest IBM/Shillito white paper
- Survey indicates state of ERM development amongst insurers globally
- Capgemini World Insurance Report focuses on the customer experience and emerging distribution channels
- EIOPA launches technical assessment of Solvency II long-term guarantee package
- EIU/BNY Mellon report highlights global issues for insurers
- Report looks at two issues facing insurer CEOs globally
- EIOPA publishes Opinion on Solvency II interim measures
- The Global Insurance Week
- Report reviews priorities for US p&c insurers in 2013
- EIOPA publishes latest financial stability report
- Swiss Re study reviews global market prospects for 2013
- EIOPA exploring possibility of interim stage for Solvency II
- Research indicates rising cost of regulatory cost for UK general insurers
- Accenture global survey indicates insurance equity analysts' expectations and issues
- KPMG suggests a way forward for Solvency II
- Survey indicates insurer progress on Solvency II
- FSA publishes Journey to the FCA paper
- Global Federation of Insurance Associations formed
- EIOPA pushes Barnier on Solvency II timetable clarification
- OFT refers UK motor insurance market for review by Competition Commission
- Solvency II delay now seems inevitable
- Prudential survey indicates changing UK customer choice of advice approach
- Keeping up with regulatory change in UK financial services an increasing overhead
- Men prefer telematics more than women says survey
- HSBC - Gulliver's position untenable?
- Libor, the BBA and Thomson Reuters
- IAIS releases paper on Reinsurance and Financial Stability
- Upcoming financial regulatory structure in UK gets cool reception
- ACORD sponsored survey looks at the growing importance of analytics
- Monitise completes on Clairmail acquisition
- Leading insurer ceos give views on market challenges
- EIOPA publishes final draft guidelines for ORSA
- Bank of China chairman speaks on international expansion
- EIOPA publishes final report on Solvency II reporting but....
- US insurer priorities reviewed in survey
- IAIS releases latest draft for supervision of international insurers
- Crédit Agricole uses ACI for payments system overhaul
- Wake up call for UK commercial insurance sector?
- IBM, Analytics, social media and financial services
- 51% of insurers changing measurement of capital adequacy under Solvency II says survey
- 80% Of Goldman growth will arise from BRIC nations
- EIOPA says majority of European insurers well capitalised but...
- BlackRock forecasts Greek loan writeoff at €30bn
- New UK regulator suggests ending 'free' banking
- Société Générale Bank & Trust live with FRSGlobal
- New UK business finance website
- Europe to lead on telematics says report
- Spanish bank plan
- Significance of the JPM trading losses
- Geneva Association reports on global ageing issues and the role of insurance
- Report highlights action being taken by UK insurers in readiness for Solvency II
- UK personal lines insurers provide poor online user experience says survey
- OCBC ranked strongest bank in world - again
- European insurers must move from risk measurement to real risk management to achieve a return on Solvency II investment says report
- Solvency II survey indicates UK insurers have still much to do-majority say start date will be delayed
- WiproTechnologies-on the global insurance stage
- JPM prepaid card bank account a trend-setter
- Estimate of additional Spanish bank capital needed
- First US approval for Chinese bank purchase
- Accenture and Duck Creek solutions together add value
- UBS clients use iPad to design trading algorithms
- Engagement Banking
- US ExPats giving up nationality to save tax
- PayTag turns any mobile into contactless pay device
- CHARGE Anywhere NFC card acceptance via BlackBerry
- SAS-helping insurers to understand their business
- SWIFT launches Sanctions Screening
- Study predicts telematics take off in UK
- SWIFT guide on moving to Sepa
- Monitise buys Clairmail
- QlikTech-placing agile analytics in the hands of the business user
- BRIC countries boost bank business lending - G8 lowers it
- The Met Office says Atlantic hurricane fluctuations connected to industrial air pollution
- PayPal phone to card acceptance device converter
- Pingit P2P now open to customers of all UK banks
- Telematics statistics indicate further good news
- SAS launches Visual Analytics
- IBM / Citigroup deal to use IBM Watson
- Telematics growing in interest in UK amongst consumers says survey
- BTG Pactual listing will be one of largest
- Most of UK life insurers sheltered from eurozone sovereign debt crisis says Fitch
- Global insurer IT spend to increase after decline says report
- Geneva Association reviews catastrophic year and looks forward
- Solvency II goes too far says survey
- Predictive analytics at heart of SAS updated AML tool
- Policy administration modernisation is next priority says survey
- HDFC mobile banking with Monitise and Visa
- Insurers falling behind other sectors in customer service says survey
- Western Union payment deals with 26 mobile wallet providers
- Global ceo survey indicates key reasons for growth being held back
- HSBC to exit Japan retail
- Vodafone - Visa announce global mobile wallet
- More on Telefónica and MasterCard LatAm JV
- BBVA-Google first combined forecasts
- SEPA payments date set as 1st February 2014
- Gibraltar plan to attract more funds
- EIOPA issues 2012 Action Plan for Colleges of Supervisors
- Glory ATM manufacturer buys Talaris
- Insurers could look towards alternative asset classes because of Solvency II says survey
- European regulator warns politicians on Solvency II potential delay
- UK insurers need to place more emphasis on product features says report
- US Bank bail out in disguise?
- US issues millionth EMV Visa card
- Citigroup to end mortgage brokerage intros
- US Bancorp $440m renewable investment
- Difficult decisions ahead for European insurers says Ernst & Young report
- The MGAA-providing timely support for UK underwriting agencies
- 2012 US Auto Claims Satisfaction study published
- Local support for Thailand Catastrophe Fund plan
- US Prosecutors charge Wegelin with assisting tax evasion
- Digital cash for the digital wallet
- Eric Daniels to join StormHarbour
- SunTrust acquires FirstAgain for loan platform
- S&P maintains stable outlook on reinsurance market
- FIS announces POS mobile wallet
- Credit Agricole opens app store
- Half of Visa Europe transactions on mobile by 2020
- BBVA and Google try to improve forecasting for clients
- Deloitte publishes 2012 Global Insurance Outlook report
- BBVA goes to the Google Cloud
- Geneva Association reviews three key issues for the global insurance industry
- Treasury Committee motor insurance report creates comment
- World Economic Forum Global Risks 2012 report published
- IBM Joins Bank Information Architecture Network
- No delay on Basel III liquidity - peer review introduced
- Further delay over Solvency II
- Itaú Unibanco Latin America expansion
- Reawakening ATM standard cassette initiative
- EIOPA issues financial stability report
- Ernst & Young outlines five success strategies for US p&c insurers
- IBM 10 year infrastructure deal with La Caixa
- Only 20% of actuaries and insurance finance managers completely confident in data control processes and spreadsheets says research
- Fitch predicts future trend for US broker market
- Swiss Re reviews emerging markets
- SocGen CIB exec team changes
- RBS investment banking downsizing
- Nigeria limits cash usage to boost Mpayments
- eBay acquires German BillSAFE
- Nigerian mobile money licences
- IBM help for Kenyan banking
- BNP Paribas and IBM extend infrastructure JV
- Monitise and FIS strategic partnership
- PayPal Swedish contactless POS trial
- PayPal to join discount coupon bandwagon
- Morgan Stanley $1.8bn writedown
- State Street exits UK & German bonds
- Swiss Re sigma study reviews catastrophe costs
- Aon Benfield publishes report on China p&c and reinsurance market
- US life industry faces challenges says report
- NBNK may bid for Yorkshire & Clydesdale
- Swiss Re predicts bluer skies from 2013
- Long term investment move away from Equities
- MoneyGram / ICBC remittance deal
- Algorithmics reporting for wealth management
- Western Union starts UK prepaid services
- Launch of Western Union Small Business Payments
- LIMRA reviews US consumer life insurance buying trends
- A.M.Best stress tests insurers exposure to eurozone debt
- 4 bids possible for RBS Aviation
- Takefuji restructure plan in doubt
- Raiffeisen told to consider dual-listing
- Hedge fund chief backs Financial Transaction Tax
- PayPal 6 fold increase in mobile payments over Thanksgiving
- Women are greater online fraud risk claim
- Sovereign bonds revised capital risk charges unlikely to be incorporated in Solvency II in near term says Fitch
- Survey indicates major issues for London Market players
- Deutsche Bank Asset Management part sale?
- Social media central to SunGards mobile platform
- Google Wallet boost from Checkout
- Defaqto survey indicates vital role of financial advisers
- Global survey reveals insurers could improve services to customers
- S & P highlights regulatory change for UK life insurers presents challenges but there are long term opportunities
- Deutsche Borse / NYSE derivatives proposal
- Swiss / US comprehensive tax treaty
- Buffet sees value in financial services stock prices
- New UBS CEO halves investment banking - sets financial targets
- Visa Digital wallet branded V.Me
- Social Media to inpact insurance market says report
- Credit Agricole / Visa microSD NFC contactless payment
- IBM offers mobile device security
- MasterCard and Intel online & NFC security alliance
- Barclays insurance deals with Aviva and Legal & General
- PayPal Android App includes NFC P2P
- Volcker rule too complicated
- Only 48% of UK and US consumers trust their insurance provider says survey
- Guy Carpenter reviews Asia Pacific catastrophe scenario
- Dodd Frank cheat sheet
- simplytap - mobile purchase by entering just 2 codes
- BoA to sell more of China Construction stake?
- Lloyds Banking appoints acting CEO serving notice period
- SocGen creating UK online bank using Selftrade
- Total loss customer satisfaction lower says US auto insurance study
- FIS to process Discover network cards
- Barclays profits YTD UP on corporate and DVA
- Visa Europe and FIS take stake in Monitise
- Alfa Bank offers first contactless payments in Russia
- Banks and the Euro crisis deal
- IBM Security division formed
- CommBank Kaching multi-payment mobile app
- Norton Rose reviews financial institutions globally
- Fiserv unified wealth platform available
- British Arab Commercial deploys IBM risk analytics
- US Card issuers pile back into sub-prime
- CEA opposes US bills relating to taxing of foreign insurers
- RDT spreads its wings
- Google wallet open for all banks
- Equifax to Offer First Data Confidence Score Solution
- Misys launches market Risk Solution
- JPMorgan Q3 profit down a little
- TSYS renews outsourcing deal with Capital One
- Fitch reviews UK life sector
- Mobile banking software ranked
- UK websites compared for speed and how it affects purchase
- More Brits use online banking than use Facebook or Tweet
- Tesco confirm core banking system problems
- SMFG unit moves systems development to Ireland
- Global IPO value down 46% on year ago
- SMBC tender for Promise
- The mobile wallet reaches Papua New Guinea
- NBNK only bidder to meet deadline for Lloyds branches
- Fiserv launches bank risk analysis tool
- Fusion-io speeds up Deutsche credit risk calculation
- European epayment rules anti-competitive investigation
- Capital One social gaming spend
- MUFG electronic management of syndicated Loans
- Google Wallet live in US
- Laying down the rules for Volcker
- UBS rogue trading - story so far
- John Mack retires at year end from Morgan Stanley
- Mobile payments may exceed 15bn in 2013
- Future of UK retail banking final report
- Monitise virtual card anti-fraud offering
- Egypts first major M&A deal since revolution
- BoA in syndicate to fund solar power for military dwellings
- Bank of America executive changes
- NBNK confirms talks - shares suspended
- Insurers to spend more on IT says research
- NBNK to buy Lloyds branches, Clydesdale & Yorkshire banks?
- LSE to buy LCH.Clearnet?
- SunGard completes on FINACE
- BNY Mellon replaces CEO
- RBS strategic relationship with Monitise
- IBM to Acquire Algorithmics
- IBM 10 banking deals within CEE region
- Dexia may struggle without state aid
- ICBC profits continue to rise
- CFS negligible profit UK Co-op bank loss
- Monitise granted Nigerian Mobile Payment licence
- Accenture buys US Mortgage processor
- Banks must work harder to attract 'Facebook Generation'
- Banks borrowed $1.2tr of secret US federal funds
- HSBC T&B bidding for parts of WestLB
- Rethinking of US infrastructure bank
- India Post-bank soon?
- RBS bigger loss - underlying progress
- Swiss / German withholding tax - template for future?
- NCR Bill Pay Kiosks
- Visa to chip its cards in the US
- Useful stats on the UK smartphone market
- Elavon to accept China Unionpay cards
- IBM & Security First in Cloud Security venture
- HSBC - expense cuts not straight to the bottom line
- Moody's AAA for Footballer Ronaldo as collateral
- Hugh Osmond is 3rd bidder for Lloyds branches
- Berchtold & Meister to head Credit Suisse Private Banking
- TStone & Flowers joint bid for Woori?
- UK banks retail market share
- New CEOs and Chairman at Deutsche Bank
- Rothschild investing Chinese funds in other countries
- VITAband wristband - the future of contactless payment?
- Citi gains as loan losses fall
- The lesson from the European stress test.
- Citi may keep store card unit
- JPMorgan profits boosted loan loss reductions and Investment banking
- Friday night is European stress test result night
- Banking Industry Architecture Network grows
- Business & law enforcement form new anti-Cybercrime org.
- PayPal buys Zong
- IBM to provide Garanti Bankasi with new servers
- Deutsche Borse invests in FX technology derivatives co
- New IBM white paper on client centricity and reducing risk
- Stay Agile and Stand Out in Changing Insurance Markets
- UK Airlines surcharge for debit card banned - overall ban may follow
- Fed generous to card issuers on Durbin cap
- HSBC cost cutting promises underwhelming
- Major systems issues reported at ANZ
- The Global Week
- Oracle BI for iPad and iPhone
- IBM on systemic risk
- Google, Citi, MasterCard, First Data mobile wallet
- HSBC Q1 pre-tax down 14.1%
- US tornadoes could cost insurers up to $5bn
- HSBC should sell US retail business & Ping An stake
- UK banks agree to settle PPI claims
- PPI charge creates Lloyds Banking pre-tax £3.5bn LOSS
- Beyond Compliance: Differentiating through Solvency II technology investments
- European banks said to have 1.3tr Euro of non-core assets
- UK consultation on the covered bond market
- UK Banking reform report significant
- Towers Watson reports on Solvency II survey across insurers operating in UK
- Horta-Osorio determined to conclude Lloyds branches sale this year
22nd February 2012
Insurers falling behind other sectors in customer service says survey
Ernst & Young’s Global Insurance Customer Survey released this week highlights how a combination of increased expectations and accessible technology mean that the insurance industry is now facing a far more demanding customer and that those suppliers who fail to make a rapid move to a more consumer-friendly business model risk being left behind.
Shaun Crawford, global insurance leader at Ernst & Young, comments “The expectations of consumers are constantly evolving and the insurance industry has not always managed to keep pace. Our survey found that, while of course there are variations in customer attitudes and behaviours around the globe, there are some remarkably consistent underlying themes about what consumers want and where they expect more from insurers.
The survey of 24,000 insurance customers across 23 countries underlines that globally the consumer is more active and better informed–over two-thirds of consumers will proactively research their next purchase, more than double those who researched their last purchase. Consumers have high service expectations, but a substantial majority of them are reporting little or no proactive communication from their suppliers and think that insurers have fallen behind other sectors in customer service and rewarding customer loyalty.
As Crawford explains, “Consumers are taking a much more proactive approach to educating themselves about their products and their needs and there is frustration with the industry’s apparent lack of transparency. Consumer expectations in terms of service standards and rewards for loyalty are already being met by other service industries and the modern customer wants to see the same from their insurer. Unless the industry addresses these issues quickly, we expect switching rates to increase in the next decade and that non-traditional providers with better service platforms could use the opportunity to take market share.”
The majority of consumers across the globe believe that the life and pensions industry is trailing in service standards and in rewarding customer loyalty. The survey results were fairly consistent across all regions and both life and non-life, with 65-75% of consumers who had an opinion agreeing with the statement that insurers trail other industries in rewarding customer loyalty and 60-70% of respondents who had an opinion agreeing that service levels in insurance lags other industries.
Crawford added “The results are clear-the global consumer is used to the multichannel, consumer-friendly approach of other service industries, and wants insurers to match them. Keeping customers is no longer just about price or brand, building a two-way relationship will be key to the success of the industry in the future.”
The survey results show that across the globe that despite the financial crisis, consumers have not lost faith in insurers; they trust the industry and satisfaction levels are high, averaging 7/10. Consumers are reluctant to change provider, but insurers are losing their customers through inaction.
Around 75% of consumers across the globe reported a lack of contact from their existing provider at the point at which they were due to renew their non-life insurance, with over half of consumers in Europe and the Americas reporting that they received no contact at all.
More effort is being made to communicate with and retain life and pensions customers but this is geographically very mixed, with 46% of consumers in Asia Pacific saying they felt their insurer had made a great or fair amount of effort, compared to just 30% and 24% in Europe and the Americas respectively. The high level of contact in Asia-Pacific reflects the agency model that operates in the region.
The level of consumers switching providers in life and investments policies may at first glance appear relatively low- on average only around 10% of those surveyed globally have changed their provider in the last five years, but for products with a 25-year life, however, this is a significant degree of churn. Switching levels in non-life are higher, with around a quarter of consumers having switched provider in the last five years, (Europe 32%, Americas 24%, and Asia Pacific 22%).
“The increasing level of churn in both life and pensions and non-life can’t be ignored. There is a change of mind-set needed when it comes to interaction with and services provided for customers. The largest reason for consumers changing provider, affecting a third of respondents, was that their needs changed and their insurer could not meet their new needs. Many insurers are clearly failing to anticipate and address the changing needs of their customers. The challenge for insurers is to take this information and turn it to their advantage,” added Crawford.
Around 70% of consumers surveyed intend to research their next life and pensions purchases. This represents a significant rise as just a third of consumers researched their last purchase.
The use of online resources to research insurance products is also set in increase dramatically over the next few years. The use of comparison websites to research life and pensions products is set to more than double in all the regions, as is the use of other independent online sources while the use of blogs is set to triple.
Independent research is already more established in the non-life market but we are still set to see considerable increases in this market. Around two thirds of consumers intended to research their next non-life purchases, a rise from around 40% who researched their last purchase. 37% of consumers intended to make more use of comparison websites and 20% of consumers intended to make more use of blogs.
Crawford says “Consumers have traditionally turned to third parties, including family members and personal financial advisers but the survey highlights a global trend towards using online sources for third party validations, be that price comparison websites or blogs.
The rise of new technologies does not mean that existing channels will become obsolete, but consumers will expect a seamless, consistent response from insurers and so the new channels need to be integrated effectively. The impact of online comparison sites in the UK market can be taken as a case study in how fast these tools can change a market and customer expectations. For example, 57% of consumers now use online sources for research of non-life products in the UK, which is well above the regional average.”
Well over a third of consumers surveyed find the life and pensions products on the market too complicated. They would like to see simple and more transparent products. More than a quarter of consumers in every region surveyed said that they would reconsider switching provider if they could guarantee more transparency on the products and better communication about product performance.
“The need for clarity and transparency in the buying process is not driven purely by customer preferences. As a result of the financial crisis, regulators around the globe are focusing on protecting consumer interests more than ever before, with major new regulations being introduced in the EU and many other markets around the world. Insurers that align themselves to a truly customer-centric model will find the transition to the new regulatory environment less painful, and will gain competitive advantage,” concluded Crawford.