Easy website navigation a top draw for young insurance shoppers

Insurance pricing tends to be less important for Generations X and Y as it is to Boomers, while older shoppers don’t see easy navigation as the most important aspect of an insurer’s website, a recent survey out of the United States suggests.

In J.D. Power’s 2014 Insurance Website Evaluation Study, released Tuesday, 35% of Gen X and Gen Y were likely to choose the lowest-priced brand, compared with 47% of Boomers.

The study, which included 4,000 shopping evaluations, looked at the functional aspects of websites for 20 insurance brands.

Participants performed a number of tasks online and rated them on a five-point scale, with 1 being “very difficult”; 3 being “neither difficult nor easy”; and 5 being “very easy” and these scores are used to compute an overall experience index for shopping and servicing based on a 500-point scale.

Based on the study, Gen Y shoppers appeared more concerned with understanding information and were more likely to select a brand that provides the appropriate amount of information (29%), and does so in a clear and intelligible way (36%).

Gen X and Gen Y users also were more likely to select insurance brands with the easiest navigation (at 40%), compared with Boomers (36%) and Pre-Boomers (33%).

Overall, users were most likely to choose the brand for purchase that they thought had the lowest quote (39%), looked better (39%) and was easier to navigate (38%).

“In the U.S. automobile marketplace, Gen Y is the fastest growing segment of new-vehicle buyers—second only to Boomers,” Jeremy Bowler, senior director of J.D. Power’s global insurance practice noted in a press release.

“With the growing number of Gen Y insurance shoppers, insurers need to think about how to present information that best addresses the needs of this highly attractive consumer group,” he said. “Understanding the preferences of different generations, especially Gen Y consumers, is of utmost importance to ensure that shoppers are having the best experience possible.”

Overall, J.D. Power notes that insurer websites are most differentiated by the variability of the lowest quotes offered, site appearance and ease of navigation.

“The process of getting insurance quotes can be complex for shoppers; and for those unfamiliar with insurance terminology, it can be quite difficult and frustrating,” Bowler noted. “Insurers that provide a user-friendly, informative experience can make the process less intimidating and help improve the overall website shopping experience.”