Survey: Millennials Willing To Purchase Insurance Via An App

KoverNow, an insurtech start-up company based in Singapore, offering mobile consumer insurance services via its app, has released new research into millennial purchasing and risk attitudes to insurance.

The survey, of over 500 millennials of the estimated 1.5 million living in Singapore, shows that their attitudes to risk and purchasing insurance services are influenced by price advantages, ease of use, the buying experience and speedy claims processes.

The vast majority of respondents already own health insurance (73.9%) and life insurance (72.6%). However, despite almost 80% claiming that they would be distressed if their smartphone or tablet was lost or stolen, and 70.8% who would be distressed to lose their laptop, only 12.2% actually said they have insurance cover for these items.  This is not because they are unwilling to pay for protection and peace of mind. In fact, the survey found that on average the respondents would be willing to pay to insure their electronic possessions.

While less respondents said that they would be distressed with the loss or theft of fashion items such as jewellery (40.5%), luxury watches (36.7%) and luxury handbags (32.2%), they would still be willing to buy insurance cover for their luxury goods.

Currently, of the millennials surveyed, around 45% said that they search for information about purchasing financial products or services through online search engines. While word of mouth recommendations were also a preference, nearly 40% said that online reviews, articles and/or videos informed their purchasing decisions.

The findings also show that millennials in Singapore would be open to using a mobile app to purchase insurance, and the top four most common insurance products they would consider buying through an app are health, mobile device, life and travel insurance.

After being shown a concept video of KoverNow's insurance app, the respondents reacted positively to it being convenient, easy to use and user-friendly. When asked to rank the top three most important attributes that would impact their experience when using the app, pricing advantages got top billing, followed by a hassle-free claims process, an easy to use interface and the responsiveness of the support team.

Stephan Kaiser, CEO of KoverNow, speaking about the results of the survey, said; "The results of this research offer compelling evidence that millennials are open to buying insurance using an app if it can be made easy and straightforward for them – historically complex transactions from front-to-end, such as insurance, have not been possible using an app, but our research shows that millennials are prepared to use this channel. They are also willing to spend money to insure what is important to them, but they are looking for the kind of digital service they are used to getting from their bank. Insurance is the digital laggard in the financial services industry, and as long as it remains out of touch with digital natives it will fail to attract the hearts, and wallets, of this vital demographic."

About KoverNow

Founded in the UK in 2019, KoverNow is headquartered in Singapore, centered around its core markets in Asia Pacific with their large demographic base of highly educated and affluent millennials. The company´s digitally-enabled insurance platform dramatically improves the customer journey for purchasing and managing different types of personal insurance by streamlining processes, speeding up renewals, approvals and claims. The KoverNow platform can achieve these efficiency gains whilst providing transparency, speed and value to existing ecosystems, channel partners and policy holders. KoverNow's insurance platform provides features and functionality that reflect the changing consumer behavior of a younger demographic mix of policy holders that want control, flexibility and convenience in a truly mobile format.