Technology encouraging millennials’ mistrust of insurance: RIMS Canada Conference

Millennials’ dependence on technology is making them more self-sufficient but this may be to the detriment of traditional institutions such as the insurance industry and government, according to Shachi Kurl, executive director at Angus Reid Institute.

“We are growing what I call the ‘YouTube generation.’ Why do you need insurance for your car, your home, your life when there is a video that will tell you how to secure everything you need to secure, how to fix everything that you need to fix? How to rewire your house, fix your plumbing, fix your car?” said Kurl while speaking at a plenary presentation on the economy during RIMS Canada’s annual conference in Toronto on Wednesday.

Related: Brokers, avoid possible liability issues with clients involved in sharing economy: RIMS Canada Conference

There are various studies that demonstrate millennials’ growing distrust of traditional institutions, such as one citing that less than half of this group believes that government is working for the benefit of citizens, said Kurl, calling that statistic a “pretty stark” number.

The lesson for risk managers is that they should expect millennials’ wariness of their company’s services to have a large impact on how a company interacts with this particular generation, said Kurl.

Risk managers should also be aware of the contradictory nature of what does earn millennials’ trust. While this generation would be leery of attempts by government to access their personal information such as mobile phone activities, “this is the same generation that is giving up all of their personal information on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, online shopping and Tinder,” said Kurl.

This story was originally published by Canadian Insurance Top Broker.