Bain & Co : How Insurance Consumers Are Responding to Covid-19

Executive summary :

Beyond Covid-19’s toll on human health, the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have led to harsh economic conditions for many people. This turmoil has rippled through the insurance industry, in the form of shifting customer priorities and new operational models that rely far more on digital channels and work-at-home staffing.

COVID-19 has affected consumer attitudes towards insurers  

To assess how consumer behaviours and perceptions about life and property and casualty (P&C) insurance have changed, Bain & Company is conducting a series of surveys worldwide. This brief covers our findings from the first survey of more than 43,600 consumers in the US, with implications for insurers in the areas of pricing, digital channels and tailored offerings.

Prices are a big deal

As one immediate effect of the pandemic on household finances, 18% of respondents with life policies requested temporary relief on their premium contribution. For P&C policies, 9% requested a deferred payment, in addition to the premium refund offered by many US insurers.

Price sensitivity shows up in other ways as well, such as switching behaviour. Customers have switched insurance providers at a higher rate in 2020 compared with the previous year. The coronavirus accelerated that trend: From mid-January through the end of May, the switching rate among respondents who requested premium relief was 19% for P&C products and 15% for life products – far higher than among respondents who did not ask for relief (see Figure 1).

Price was the leading reason for switching cited by respondents overall (see Figure 2). We found other evidence in a separate global analysis of online search terms: Between mid-March and mid-May, “cheap car insurance” and “home insurance cost” were the leading keywords for insurance searches.

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