More and more Italians are using the web and telephone companies to choose their own insurance policy. In 2014, one policyholder out of three collected information on the internet (in 2013 the percentage was 14%) while 43% of customers turned to telephone companies (against 37% in 2013). This is what emerges from the 2015 survey conducted by the ANIA Observatory on "customer satisfaction" in collaboration with the GFK public opinion research institute and Bocconi University. The survey collected the answers of 3000 insured Italian heads of households aged between 18 and 74, in order to understand their degree of satisfaction with the market and with insurance products.
Overall, the percentage of customers who use the internet and telephone companies alongside the relationship with the agent is growing (42% in 2014 against 32% in 2013). The latter confirms itself as the preferred channel for consumers: 70% of the sample declares that they physically go to the agency, especially for policies other than Motor TPL, such as Life policies where the need for a real consultant is more felt.
Motor liability policies are the most purchased products (98% of the sample) and, in 2014, coverage for professionals recorded a significant increase (10% of the sample, compared to 6% in 2013).
Approximately 40% of customers have more than one policy and switching from one company to another is increasingly simple and frequent: more than a quarter of policyholders (27% in 2014) have changed insurance companies, especially in Motor TPL , confirming the dynamism and extreme competitiveness of the market. The switch is facilitated by the web which does not require the presence of a physical person: on the internet, policyholders feel freer, more independent and inclined to change company.
In 2014, in contrast with the advertising market, the insurance sector invested significantly in communication, increasing advertising pressure by 42% compared to 2013.
Finally, a changed concept of policy emerges from the answers of the interviewees, understood as a daily product, for everyday activities. In the focus of the survey dedicated to the "Digitalisation of customers and the relationship with companies", the policyholders, although satisfied with web services and telephone policies, imagine a new system based on the local dimension: the possibility of signing an insurance contract in places visited every day. For example: household products in department stores, health and fitness policies in sports venues, PC data coverage to be purchased in appliance stores, travel protection to be purchased at petrol stations and health insurance policies directly in hospitals.
