UK 2016 outlook
Asked what product / distribution trends are likely in the UK life and health insurance industry in 2016, David Wells, senior product manager at online life insurance provider, Beagle Street, expects increased focus on the development of improved online solutions.
Wells says: “This sector has lagged well behind other product lines and even further behind cus¬tomer expectations for online fulfilment. I think there is a desire for better informa¬tion and online advice tools, to help the self-directed customer firstly determine what cover they need and secondly com¬plete the purchase in a time-efficient man¬ner.”
Technological innovations will dominate
A major theme to emerge from LII’s survey is that the UK protection insurance sector will see an increasing focus on gearing prod¬ucts for specific needs, such as the (D2C) space.
Paul Yates, product strategy director at iPipeline, says: “We’re going to see life com¬panies and reinsurance as well, starting to really, really focus in on D2C a lot more and work out how to really solve the prob¬lem of the very low conversion rate.”
Guy Williams, director at Liss Systems, expresses a similar point of view. In the D2C space, Williams says there will be more bespoke customer propositions driven by a better understanding of the customer at the point of sale, which will differentiate customer journeys, underwriting and up-sell options at the point of sale.
Williams says: “The technology already exists to combine public data with interactive software to offer customers more personalised propositions.”
Commenting on the likelihood of 2016 being a growth year for the UK life insur¬ance industry, Neville Koopowitz, CEO of VitalityHealth, tells LII: “Market growth in the PMI industry has not followed gains made in the economy and in employment so the big challenge over the next year and beyond is how to stimulate growth in the sector.”
“A continuing challenge in the protec¬tion market is how best to communicate its benefits to con¬sumers. However, on a more positive note, the insurance industry has never been more exciting. We are seeing a wide range of inno¬vations in the market, which is great news for consumers and intermediaries.”
Steve Casey, head of marketing and propositions at AIG Life, believes more providers in the UK are look¬ing at the later-life demographic as an untapped market during 2016. He also believes there will be more product innovation in the UK protection market in 2016.
|
