United Kingdom Mobile Phone Insurance Consumer Research Report 2019: 51% of Insured Mobile Owners are Covered by a Standalone Policy

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Sep 20, 2019, 06:00 ET

DUBLIN, Sept. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The "UK Mobile Phone Insurance Market 2019: Consumer Research Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Some of the key findings from this report are:

24% of mobile phone owners are covered by mobile phone insurance.
51% of insured mobile owners are covered by a standalone policy
11% of policyholders were FTBs, who have never owned mobile insurance before, with 89% being policyholders who are repeat customer journey takers.
7% of all policyholders switched provider in the past 12 months, while 83% renewed with an existing provider
18% of cover holders have claimed in the past year

This report examines the motivations, experiences and opinions of the UK mobile phone insurance customer. It will identify and analyse consumer attitudes towards mobile phone insurance, look at the claims experience of policyholders, and investigate why they choose one route to purchase over another. In addition, it will explore how price sensitivity is impacting the market. Essentially, the report studies the policyholder's customer journey from the point where they recognise a requirement to make a purchase, to the point when they are a customer and may run into issues like claiming and eventually may decide to switch to another provider.

Around eight-in-ten consumers own a mobile phone used for personal purposes and around one-quarter of mobile owners are covered by mobile phone insurance. This means that just over 10 million adults are covered by a mobile phone insurance policy.

Around half of insured mobile owners own a separate/standalone policy, with just under one half saying their cover is bundled into another financial product, mainly a packaged bank account. This means just over 5 million consumers are covered by standalone policies.

Around one-in-ten policyholders are new to the market each year, i.e. they are First Time Buyers (FTBs) who have never owned mobile insurance before. This means around nine-in-ten policyholders are not new to the market, so their decision is to either renew with their current provider or switch provider at the start of their annual customer journey.

The vast majority of the repeat journey takers ultimately decide to renew their insurance with their existing providers: in the past year, less than one-in-ten of all policyholders switched provider. Because policyholders have renewed with an existing provider, this does not mean they have all passively accepted a renewal offer. Renewing involves many of the same actions as a Switcher would undertake but with a different final outcome (staying rather than leaving). A clear majority of those renewing either search for alternative deals and/or engage with their incumbent provider to try and negotiate a better deal.

Mobile phone holders with insurance focus their deal finding on price comparison websites (PCWs) and online resources in general. PCWs are used so heavily for policy deal research because they offer information on the insurance products mobile owners are interested in, and in an easy to use format. However, while over six-in-ten mobile owners have consulted a PCW over the past two years, when they were asked where they purchased their last policy from, less than one-in-five said they purchased by going through a PCW.

Of more significance was going direct to the provider, using a bank or building society and buying through a mobile network provider. The importance of banks and building societies as a purchasing channel stems primarily from policyholders who acquired their cover via packaged bank accounts. Among policyholders who did not get their cover from a packaged account, three purchase channels are important: direct to provider, PCWs and the phone trade (primarily network operators).

Key Topics Covered:

1. Executive Summary

Over 10 million covered by mobile insurance
And only around half are covered by standalone policies
Most policyholders are risk averse and somewhat lacking in confidence when buying insurance
Insured mobile owners show a bias towards an online customer journey
For nine-in-ten policyholders, the customer journey is a repeat process
When searching for mobile deals, the focus is on price comparison websites
But when buying the focus is elsewhere
Cover is marginally more important than price
Owning mobile phone insurance is a good experience
If the price is not right, the customer relationship ends

2. Introduction

3. Profile Of The Insured Mobile Owner

Key findings
Eight-in-ten adults own a mobile for personal use but only around one-quarter are insured
Meaning only around one-quarter of mobile owners are insured
Insured mobile owners tend to be younger and more affluent than uninsured mobile owners
Almost half of insured mobile owners have bundled cover
Younger consumers are the most likely to opt for bundled cover.
Insured mobile owners prefer to pay annually
Cross selling Opportunities

4. How Mobile Owners Approach Insurance

Key findings
Risk aversion and value perceptions
Confidence and self-reliance
A predisposition toward an online customer journey

5. The Customer Journey Begins

Key findings
Over nine-in-ten policyholders have made multiple previous journeys
Half of policyholders have been with their current provider for less than two years
18% of policyholders switched to get their current policy but only 7% switched this year
Age strongly influences acquisition
Renewers and Switchers often act in similar ways
And both Switchers and Renewers are spurred into action by the renewal prompt
When they decide to look for deals, the Price Comparison Website is the first port of call
The range of information resources consulted expands with experience
And PCWs will be the go-to info resource on the next customer journey
Because they offer easy access to the information required
PCWs are an informational rather than a purchasing channel

6. Price, Cover Or Brand

Key findings
Two main alternative buying strategies
Younger policyholders focus more on price
Attitudes rather than demographics influence brand sensitivities
Most policyholders want a good deal
Mobile insurance policyholders need better information

7. Being A Policyholder

Key findings
Getting mobile cover is easy and satisfying
Most policyholders now use online portals to manage their policies
Almost one-in-five policyholders have claimed in the past year
Claiming is a satisfying and smooth process

8. Ending The Journey: Customer Loyalty And Switching

Key findings
7% switch each year
Switching is price led
Almost one-quarter are thinking of switching in the next year

9. Market Size And Trends

Key findings
Mobile phones, a near ubiquitous technology
Around 50 million adults have access to a mobile phone
Increasing numbers of adults can't be without their phones
Over 10 million own mobile phone insurance
A diverse market in terms of brands

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kt3xiw

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

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Research and Markets
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SOURCE Research and Markets