May 14, 2015
The Internet will help drive insurance sales of up to INR4trillion (US$62.5 billion) annually in about five years as customers in non-metro cities and youngsters buy more policies online, according to a joint survey by Google India and private non-life insurer ICICI Lombard General Insurance.
“Our studies indicate that Internet will influence INR3-4 trillion worth of insurance sales in India by 2020. Findings from this report clearly outline that consumers are shifting to the Internet at a more rapid pace than perceived earlier,” said Mr Vikas Agnihotri, Industry Director, Google India. The study, based on an offline survey of 3,007 respondents aged 25-55 who were active Internet users, was conducted to understand the level of comfort and current usage of online purchase of non-life insurance products.
Internet adoption was found to be higher for motor insurance with 24% of users buying these policies online compared to 12% of users buying the health insurance policies online. The findings show Internet users in the 25-35 age bracket are the most active in buying non-life insurance products online. For those who turn to the Internet to carry out research on health and motor insurance products, respondents cited “brand” as the most vital factor, with 88% saying the reputation of the company influenced their purchase, while 67% said that they were influenced by word of mouth.
The findings of this Google India/ICICI Lombard survey correspond with those set out in a report titled “Digital@Insurance- 20X By 2020” by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Google India last year that said that insurance sales via online channels are expected to grow 20 times by 2020, with overall Internet influenced sales to be around INR3-4 trillion. The report said that estimates are that three in every four insurance policies sold by 2020 would be influenced by digital channels during either the pre-purchase stage, purchase or renewal stages.