Research shows local insurance brokers can win more sales online with better advertising strategy
A new study* of UK consumers’ insurance buying habits has suggested that local brokers are missing out on huge opportunities to attract online sales.
Over two-thirds of Brits (70%) say buy their insurance online, with price comparison sites accounting for 44% of sales.
14% say they buy via a cashback site while just over one in five people (12%) use an online broker to buy their cover.
When asked why they didn’t use their local broker, nearly half said they felt it was cheaper to buy via a price comparison site (44%) even though most brokers will have local deal price matching or even a bettering of like-for-like pricing online.
Nearly third of people surveyed also said they didn’t know who their local broker was.
Jason Hulott, from Speedie Consultants, the digital marketing specialists who commissioned the survey, said: “We have worked with both price comparison sites and local insurance brokers and, to me, it seems that price comparison sites are only better marketers. Pound for pound in their local area a broker can compete, but they are not making themselves known in their area on price.
“When it came to reasons why people bought insurance from a particular provider, the main two elements were price (54%) and quality of cover (24%). These are two things all local brokers can compete on or provide if only their local customer base knew that they typically have price match offerings.
“It is time the local broker started to look at their marketing efforts in order to compete locally – online is a great way to attract local customers using regional and geographic targeting, and by engaging with social media”.
Mr. Hulott adds that the study also revealed that 76% of people use a desktop computer to buy insurance, suggesting that mobile transactions growth in other products has not yet translated into insurance sales – only 4% of those questioned used their smartphone to buy insurance.
Ends
*Independent research carried out on behalf of Speedie Consultants by Google Surveys, December 2014
Contact:
Jason Hulott, Speedie Consulting, on: 01843 831088; 07940 521056 or email: jason@speediepr.co.uk
Speedie Consultants was established in 2003 by Jason and Stella Hulott, which sees them offering over 50 years’ combined experience in the digital marketing and copywriting industries. Speedie Consultants Limited offers many solutions for businesses’ internet marketing needs including the provision of web content; article marketing; blog set up and marketing; press release syndication; affiliate programme set up and management; and consultancy.
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