Singaporean millennials are open to purchasing insurance through a mobile app, a study by insurtech firm Kovernow found.
The millennial generation is commonly defined as those born during the early 1980s until the mid-1990s, making them currently around 25 to 40 years old.
According to Kovernow’s survey, respondents’ attitudes to risk and purchasing insurance services were influenced by price advantages, ease of use, the buying experience and speedy claims processes. Over 500 respondents participated in the survey, out of Singapore’s millennial population of around 1.5 million.
A large majority of respondents already own health insurance (73.9%) and life insurance (72.6%). However, property insurance seemed to lag behind. Despite almost 80% of respondents claiming that they would be distressed if their smartphone or tablet was lost or stolen, and 70.8% who would be distressed to lose their laptop, only 12.2% actually said they have insurance cover for these items.
The low uptake of cover, the survey found, was not because they were unwilling to pay for protection and peace of mind. In fact, most respondents were willing to pay to insure their electronic possessions.
While fewer respondents said that they would be distressed with the loss or theft of fashion items such as jewellery (40.5%), luxury watches (36.7%) and luxury handbags (32.2%), they would still be willing to buy insurance cover for their luxury goods.
Around 45% of respondents reported that they search for information about financial products or services through online search engines. While word-of-mouth recommendations were also a preference, nearly 40% said that online reviews, articles and/or videos informed their purchasing decisions.
The findings also showed that millennials in Singapore would be open to using a mobile app to purchase insurance, with the top four products being health, mobile device, life and travel insurance.
The respondents reacted positively to a concept video of Kovernow’s insurance app. They said it was convenient, easy to use and user-friendly. When asked to rank the top three most important attributes that would impact their experience when using the app, the top factor was pricing advantages, followed by a hassle-free claims process, an easy-to-use interface and the responsiveness of the support team.
“The results of this research offer compelling evidence that millennials are open to buying insurance using an app if it can be made easy and straightforward for them – historically complex transactions from front to end, such as insurance, have not been possible using an app, but our research shows that millennials are prepared to use this channel,” said Stephan Kaiser, KoverNow’s CEO.
“They are also willing to spend money to insure what is important to them, but they are looking for the kind of digital service they are used to getting from their bank. Insurance is the digital laggard in the financial services industry, and as long as it remains out of touch with digital natives it will fail to attract the hearts, and wallets, of this vital demographic.”
