Table of Contents
Issues in Market
-
- Key themes
- Definitions
- Health insurance/private medical insurance
- Home/property insurance
- Life insurance/life assurance
- Motor insurance
- Travel insurance
- Other terms
- Data sources
- Abbreviations
Insights and Opportunities
-
- The ‘recession factor’ may be more important than price
- Consumers prefer personal touch when buying insurance
- Giving reassurance and certainty to uncertain consumers
Market in Brief
-
- Non-life insurance market worth around €4 bn (£3.45 bn) in 2011
- Economic recovery likely to be slow and uncertain
- Ageing population presents challenges and opportunities
- Decline in vehicle registrations hitting motor insurance
- Crime down in NI generally, while certain crimes up in RoI
- Decline in overseas travel by Irish consumers
- Premiums up across all insurance products
- Consumers prefer to purchase insurance by phone or in person
- Majority of consumers own some type of insurance
- Relatively high level of loyalty among consumers
- Evidence of lack of trust among consumers towards insurers
- Consumers’ purchasing behaviour suggests lack of engagement
- High level of scepticism about certain insurance types
Fast Forward Trends
-
- Trend 1: Decline of Deference
- What’s it about?
- What we’ve seen
- What next?
- Trend 2: Prepare for the worst
- What’s it about?
- What we’ve seen
- What next?
Internal Market Environment
-
- Key points
- Consumers keeping closer eye on spending
-
- Figure 1: Agreement with statement, ‘I spend money more carefully than I used to,’ NI and RoI, 2007-11
-
- Figure 2: Agreement with selected statements relating to personal finance management, NI and RoI, 2011
- Fraud costing innocent policyholders dearly
- Travel premiums up 25% in three years, while value of cover down
- Over-65s being hit hardest by increases in UK (including NI)
- Motor premiums increasing (but more moderately than previous years)
-
- Figure 3: Average motor insurance (comprehensive) premiums, UK (including NI), 2008-12
- Premiums down for young men in UK (incl. NI), but still considered high
-
- Figure 4: average motor insurance premiums, by age and gender, UK, April 2012
- NI consumers getting raw deal on car insurance
- ... with NI motorists aged 17-22 suffering most
- Motor premiums up 3% during year to February 2012 in RoI
- RoI premiums up 5% for women, only moderately for men
- RoI motorists paying 50% less for motor insurance than NI counterparts
- RoI insurers quietly increasing ‘excess’ on motor policies
- EU Gender Directive to push premiums up for women, down for men
- ... and middle-aged motorists next in line for increases
- Home premiums increasing, but still giving value for money
- RoI home insurance premiums up 3% in 2011
-
- Figure 5: Market average home premiums (buildings and contents combined), RoI, Q1 2011-Q1 2012
- NI home premiums up 7.6% during 12 months to March 2012
-
- Figure 6: average home insurance premiums, UK (including NI), April 2011 and April 2012
-
- Figure 7: Buildings and contents, premiums trends, UK (including NI) 2008-12
- Increases in health premiums threaten affordability
- RoI health insurance premiums up 50% in 18 months
- Only a quarter have switched health insurer – despite premium hikes
-
- Figure 8: Incidence of switching health insurance provider, RoI, 2002-11
- Health premiums increasing 10-15% per year in UK (including NI)
- Insurers getting tougher on ‘non-disclosure’
- Claims that insurers hitting consumers with hidden charges
- Widespread mis-selling of PPI emerges in RoI
Broader Market Environment
-
- Key points
- Tentative economic recovery doing little for consumers
-
- Figure 9: Economic outlook, NI and RoI, 2010-13
- Unemployment to remain high for foreseeable future
-
- Figure 10: ILO unemployment rate (% of labour force), actual and projected, NI and RoI, 2008-15
- Ageing population presents challenges and opportunities
-
- Figure 11: Population, by age, projected, RoI, 2011 and 2021
-
- Figure 12: Population, by age, projected, NI, 2011 and 2021
- Challenges for insurers
- Opportunities for insurers
-
- Figure 13: Agreement with the statement, ‘It is important to be well insured for everything’, by age, NI and RoI, 2011
-
- Figure 14: Consumers who travelled by air in the last 12 months for holiday/personal reasons, by age, NI and RoI, 2011
- Decline in vehicle registrations hitting motor insurance
-
- Figure 15: Number of vehicles registered for the first time, RoI and NI, 2006-11*
- Crime down in NI, while vehicle theft and criminal damage up in RoI
-
- Figure 16: Selected recorded crime incidents, by offense group, NI and RoI, 2008-11*
- Steep decline in number of consumers travelling overseas
-
- Figure 17: Consumers who travelled by air in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, 2007-11
Strengths and Weaknesses
-
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
Market Value and Forecast
-
- Key points
- Gross written premiums less than €4 billion (£3.45 billion) in 2011
-
- Figure 18: Non-life insurance, gross written premiums, IoI, RoI and NI, 2004-17
- Figure 19: Index of gross written premiums, IoI, RoI and NI, 2004-17
- RoI insurance industry sees profits decline dramatically
-
- Figure 20: Profit as % of total gross written premiums, RoI, 2005-09
Who’s Innovating?
-
- Key points
- Making insurance more accessible to older consumers
- Use of ‘smartboxes’ to cut costs for younger drivers
- New entrant to shake up RoI’s private health insurance sector
Companies and Products
-
-
- Figure 21: Profiled providers of insurance, RoI and NI, 2012
- Insurance companies – NI and RoI
- Allianz Group PLC
- AXA Ireland
- Insurance companies – NI
- Admiral Group PLC
- Direct Line Group
- Open and Direct Insurance
- Hughes Insurance
- Insurance companies – RoI
- Aviva Group Ireland PLC
- Liberty Insurance (formerly Quinn Direct Insurance)
- Zurich Insurance
- VHI Healthcare
- Royal Sun Alliance Ireland (RSA Ireland)
- Retailers – NI
- Asda
- Sainsbury’s
- Retailers – NI and RoI
- Tesco
- Banks and building societies – NI and RoI
- Allied Irish Bank (AIB)
- Bank of Ireland Group
- Ulster Bank Group
- Danske Bank Group (operating as Northern Bank and National Irish Bank)
- Banks and building societies – NI
- Nationwide
- Banks and building societies – RoI
- Permanent TSB
- HSBC Ireland
- Online providers – NI and RoI
- Getcover and Company Ltd (Getcover.ie)
- Its4women.ie and 25plus.ie
- 123.ie
- Confused.com
- Comparethemarket.com
- One Direct
-
Channels to Market
-
- Key points
- Preference to purchase car insurance with a phone call
-
- Figure 22: How main car insurance policy was arranged, NI and RoI, 2011
- Buildings and contents cover purchased over the phone or in person
-
- Figure 23: How buildings and contents insurance was arranged, NI and RoI, 2011
- Consumers going online to purchase holiday/travel insurance
-
- Figure 24: How holiday and travel insurance was arranged, NI and RoI, 2011
The Consumer – Product Ownership
-
- Key points
- Majority of consumers own some sort of insurance policy
-
- Figure 25: Types of insurance currently owned, RoI and NI, June 2012
- Comprehensive motor cover most common among Irish consumers
-
- Figure 26: Ownership of motor insurance, by type, RoI and NI, June 2012
- Third party policies more popular among RoI than NI consumers
- Third party policies favoured only by younger consumers
-
- Figure 27: Ownership of comprehensive and third party motor insurance policies, by age, RoI, June 2012
- Two thirds in RoI, three quarters in NI have home insurance
-
- Figure 28: Ownership of home insurance, by type, RoI and NI, June 2012
- ABC1s far more likely to own home cover in NI, but not in RoI
-
- Figure 29: Ownership of buildings and contents insurance, by socio-economic background, RoI and NI, June 2012
- Home insurance ownership strongly linked to age
-
- Figure 30: Ownership of buildings and contents insurance, by age, RoI and NI, June 2012
- Sizeable minority of consumers own some form of travel cover
-
- Figure 31: Ownership of travel insurance, by type, RoI and NI, June 2012
- Ownership of holiday and travel cover highest among ABC1s and 45+
-
- Figure 32: Ownership of holiday and travel insurance, by age and socio-economic background, RoI and NI, June 2012
- Health insurance ownership more than twice as high in RoI as in NI
-
- Figure 33: Ownership of private medical/health insurance, RoI and NI, June 2012
The Consumer – Trust and Complaints
-
- Key points
- Half of all consumers believe some insurers act unfairly
-
- Figure 34: Agreement with statement ‘I believe that some insurers don’t treat their customers fairly’, by gender and age, RoI and NI, June 2012
- ... while around 15% claim to have been mis-sold insurance products
-
- Figure 35: Agreement with statement ‘I have been mis-sold insurance products in the past’, by gender and age, RoI and NI, June 2012
- Lack of trust reflected in number of complaints about insurance
- 61% of complaints to UK (incl. NI) Ombudsman relate to insurance in 2010/11
-
- Figure 36: Complaints to UK financial ombudsman service, by sector, UK (incl. NI), 2010/11*
- 47% of complaints in RoI were insurance-related in 2011
-
- Figure 37: Complaints to RoI Financial Services Ombudsman, RoI, 2011
- Majority of UK (incl. NI) complaints about PPI
-
- Figure 38: Insurance-related complaints, by product type, UK (incl. NI), 2010/11*
-
- Figure 39: Number of complaints about insurance products, by type, UK (incl. NI), 2010/11*
-
- Figure 40: Insurance-related complaints as % of total complaints, UK (incl. NI), 2006/07 to 2010/11
- Increase in complaints over travel insurance in UK (incl. NI)
-
- Figure 41: Annual percentage change in number of insurance-related complaints, by product type, UK, (incl. NI), 2010/11*
- Motor and buildings insurance generate most complaints in RoI
-
- Figure 42: Insurance-related complaints, by product type, RoI, 2011
- 50% of all insurance complaints in RoI related to claims
-
- Figure 43: Reasons for insurance-related complaints, RoI, 2011
- 50% of insurance complaints upheld in UK (incl. NI)
-
- Figure 44: Insurance-related complaints upheld, % of total received, UK (incl. NI), 2007/08* and 2010/11**
- ... but only a quarter of insurance complaints upheld in RoI
-
- Figure 45: Outcome of insurance-related complaints, RoI, 2011
The Consumer – Purchasing Behaviour
-
- Key points
-
- Figure 46: Agreement with selected statements related to insurance-purchasing, RoI and NI, June 2012
- Relatively low tendency to invest time in finding right policy
-
- Figure 47: Agreement with statement, ‘I am prepared to spend time finding the right insurance policy’, by gender, age and socio-economic background, NI and RoI, June 2012
- Use of price-comparison sites puts undue emphasis on price alone
- Older consumers more confident about sufficiency of cover
-
- Figure 48: Agreement with statement, ‘I am confident that I have sufficient insurance cover in place’, by age, NI and RoI, June 2012
- A ‘recognisable’ brand not overly important for most
- Failure of read ‘small print’ threatens trust and loyalty
The Consumer – Price, Value and Affordability
-
- Key points
-
- Figure 49: Agreement with statements relating to price, value and affordability, RoI and NI, June 2012
- Most consumers sceptical about some types of cover
- Affordability issues for 41% of RoI and 22% of NI consumers
- Around a quarter believe insurance is more important during recession
- Little sense that low price equates to low quality
Consumer Typologies
-
- Key points
- RoI target groups
-
- Figure 50: Consumer typologies, RoI, June 2012
- Risk Averse
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding the Risk Averse
- Price Sensitive
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding the Price Sensitive
- Care Free
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding the Care Free
- Savvy Insurers
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding Savvy Insurers
- NI target groups
-
- Figure 51: Consumer typologies, NI, June 2012
- Traditional Insurers
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding Traditional Insurers
- Risk Takers
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding the Risk Takers
- Finance Managers
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding the Finance Managers
- Can’t Be Bothered
- Characteristics
- Demographic pattern
- Understanding the Can’t Be Bothered
Appendix
-
- Population data
-
- Figure 52: Population, by age, RoI, 2006-41
- Figure 53: Population, by age, NI, 2010-56
- Product ownership data (Toluna)
- RoI
-
- Figure 54: Types of insurance currently owned, by demographics, RoI, June 2012
- Figure 55: Types of insurance currently owned, by demographics, RoI, June 2012 (Continued)
-
- Figure 56: Types of insurance currently owned, by demographics, RoI, June 2012 (Continued)
- NI
-
- Figure 57: Types of insurance currently owned, by demographics, NI, June 2012
- Figure 58: Types of insurance currently owned, by demographics, NI, June 2012 (Continued)
-
- Figure 59: Types of insurance currently owned, by demographics, NI, June 2012 (Continued)
- Attitudinal data (Toluna)
- RoI
-
- Figure 60: Agreement with statements relating to insurance, by demographics, RoI, June 2012
- Figure 61: Agreement with statements relating to insurance, by demographics, RoI, June 2012 (continued)
- NI
-
- Figure 62: Agreement with statements relating to insurance, by demographics, NI, June 2012
- Figure 63: Agreement with statements relating to insurance, by demographics, NI, June 2012 (continued)
- Consumer typologies data
- RoI
-
- Figure 64: Consumer typologies, by demographics, RoI, June 2012
- Figure 65: Types of insurance currently owned, by consumer typologies, RoI, June 2012
- Figure 66: Agreement with statements relating to insurance, by consumer typologies, RoI, June 2012 (continued)
- NI
-
- Figure 67: Consumer typologies, by demographics, NI, June 2012
- Figure 68: Types of insurance currently owned, by consumer typologies, NI, June 2012
- Figure 69: Agreement with statements relating to insurance, by consumer typologies, NI, June 2012 (continued)
Back to top