Canadians embracing ‘self-serve’ insurance options, but still value broker contact

Canadians are researching their personal insurance online, but fewer are completing the transaction online, Robert Merizzi, executive vice president and chief information officer at Aviva Canada, told delegates at the National Insurance Conference of Canada (NICC).
Merizzi spoke during the ‘Managing Business System Transformation’ panel discussion on Sept. 26 at the NICC in Vancouver.
During his presentation, Merizzi described changing consumer habits and cited results from the 2011 InsurPOLL. According to the survey, the number of consumers in Canada using either broker or tele-insurers was equal. In the Ontario market, however, the trend of moving towards tele-insurers and group plans and away from the broker channel has “shifted significantly” in the past years, Merizzi said.
“But, a customer actually completing a transaction online has not grown in the last four years. Actually, during 2010-11, it started to decrease for the first time in years, which is an interesting trend,” he continued.
“The reasons for that is that customers still value the advice from their broker or tele-insurer before they go and buy their insurance. The trend is continuing to show that.”
Merizzi also pointed to the proliferation of mobile apps in recent years. “Ease of access to digital media is creating a much higher price sensitivity in the marketplace,” he said. “The trend toward ‘self-servicing’ is happening faster and faster.”
He cited data from Travelers Insurance Company. That insurer launched a mobile app that allowed its insureds to file a notice of loss through it. The number of filings more than tripled from 2010 Q1 and 2011 Q1. “That was a big surprise,” he said. “They thought it was going to catch on slowly, but in one year [activity] more than tripled.”
These trends are prevalent in personal lines, but it’s only a matter of time before they slowly emerge in small and mid-size commercial lines, he added.