Insurance aggregators’ relentless focus on digital user experience puts broker car insurance sales at risk

~ Research shows that Google, Moneysupermarket and uSwitch are now providing digital user experiences that match the likes of Apple, British Airways and Amazon ~

London, 10 June 2014 – Instinct Studios, a FinTech company that creates smarter digital customer experiences for the financial industry, has released a user experience analysis report – ‘Driving A Better Customer Experience’ – which shows that the digital user experience (UX) offered by the UK’s leading insurance aggregators is now on par with top brands from the travel and retail sectors. The results, which focus on the digital user experience of the UK’s top car insurers, illustrate the need for brokers to look more closely at their own customer experiences to continue to compete with aggregator sites.

The research, conducted between April and May 2014, analysed the quote process of 27 insurance aggregators, insurance providers and non-insurance companies. It found the average UX rating of car insurance providers is just 60%[1] compared to the UX of car insurance aggregators (79%), and non-insurance companies (80%). Overall, the insurance industry average – providers and aggregators – is just 67%, but this is skewed by under-performing insurers rather than the aggregators.

“With over 28 million cars on the road in Great Britain, car insurance is something that touches a significant proportion of the population and many consumers are now looking online for the best possible deals. The results of the UX analysis proves that insurance aggregators have reacted positively to the rising digital expectations of consumers and have significantly invested in their digital user experiences. Online insurance aggregator sites are now so simple to use and this will inevitably put increased pressure on the broker market to up their game or risk losing sales.” said Majid Shabir, founder and chief executive officer at Instinct Studios.

Today, the digital user experience plays a crucial sales and service role in financial services. As the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) pushes for greater transparency2 and for customer information to be clear, fair and not misleading, the report investigates the quality of the online sales process within the UK car insurance market.

“The time of seeing digital as ‘one’ of the distribution channels is gone. It’s now ‘the’ distribution channel,” commented Craig Scarr, financial services advisory, Grant Thornton UK. “Customers’ digital expectations are rising fast and companies that do not invest in the quality of the user experience will be left in the wake of those that do.”

“Grant Thornton’s stark warning to insurers must also be heeded by the broker community.  Unless they can rise to the digital challenge being laid down by the aggregators, they may see their car insurance business eroded faster than they think,” commented Majid.

A range of criteria was used to assess the digital user experience during the quote process including layout, visual branding, navigation and usability. The percentage ratings are based on a bespoke UX scoring system – split into five key areas and including 74 UX data points – the areas benchmarked in the report were ‘application form’, ‘quote page’, ‘add-ons’, ‘confirmation/payment’ and ‘help & support’.

Benchmarking UX ratings chart

“Insurance aggregators are creating digital user experiences that fit into people’s everyday lives and they’re raising the UX bar to new heights. Aggregator sites are now on par with other sectors, but the insurance providers are still way off pace” continued Majid. “The aggregators are generally offering a simple and intuitive user interface and many provide a responsive quote journey - in other words a user experience that adapts itself to the customer’s device – desktop, tablet or mobile.”

“The broker community needs to learn from this and find ways to keep pace with the aggregators and the answer is likely to include both digital and non-digital customer experience improvements. If brokers don’t react, they’re in danger of seeing their general insurance business fall away at an alarming rate.”

To view the full report, findings and methodology, please visit Driving A Better Customer Experience’.

Notes to editor

[1]The highest possible score was 74 out of 74. Each company’s score was converted into a percentage to provide easy comparisons. For example, a company scoring 37 out of 74 would be shown as 50%.

2FCA Transparency discussion paper.

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About Instinct Studios

Instinct Studios is a new FinTech company that creates smarter customer experiences to simplify the world of financial services across web, mobile and touch-enabled devices. By making processes effortless and complex data meaningful, it help customers make clear and informed financial decisions. It blends design and technology expertise with a deep understanding of financial services to help organisations create the best digital experience for its customers.  

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