Despite digital insurance distribution making inroads into the Indian market, offline agents remain the dominant channel in buying insurance, a survey by online insurance broker InsuranceDekho found.
The survey indicated that 39.6% of respondents preferred buying from offline agents, while online insurance sellers, such as InsuranceDekho and rival firm PolicyBazaar, took second place at 32.6%. Direct purchase from the insurer's website was at third at 15.6% and tied insurance company agents was fourth at 12%.
Conducted in January, the survey attempts to gauge the various factors influencing consumers’ decisions to buy insurance, Mint reported. A random sampling of insurance buyers showed that a large majority were male at 90.8%. According to InsuranceDekho, this meant that, while women may have some input on the process, the final decision to buy insurance rested on the male head of the family.
Most buyers were young adults, with those below 35 years old accounting for 63% of purchases compared to 37% for those above 35. Salaried employees were the most common insurance buyers at 41.2%, followed by the self-employed at 28.8%. Students were 15.6% of respondents, while 14.4% were retirees.
“These findings not only help in understanding our customers better and planning accordingly but also assist in understanding the effect of the pandemic on the insurance coverage, and where we are lacking in terms of creating awareness among people and getting them suitably insured,” said Ankit Agrawal, founder of InsuranceDekho. “The survey is not just limited to consumer behaviour – it tells a lot if we dig deeper.”
