The Digital Insurer
Accenture 2013 Consumer-Driven Innovation Survey
Playing to win
Insurers must raise their game to attract and
retain customers, and turn the “switching
economy” from a risk into an opportunity—
and a pathway to high performance.
Huge opportunity as customers switch to
insurers that are playing to win their loyalty
Customers are more demanding than ever. Those who don’t
get what they want can switch providers—which is easier than
ever. This dynamic represents a huge potential loss of revenue
for insurers that fail to retain their customers, and a huge
equivalent opportunity for those that can offer dissatisfied
customers what they’re looking for. We call it the “switching
economy,” and it was worth as much as $400 billion in 2013.
In a market in which most carriers have been playing to avoid
losing, a few leaders have adopted a “play to win” strategy.
The key features of this strategy are their authentic customercentricity, the provision of more relevant and personalized
products and services, and the exploitation of digital
technologies to meet their customers’ rising expectations.
Playing to win is becoming even more of an imperative as
companies from outside the industry—banks and now online giants
like Amazon and Google—threaten to disintermediate insurers.
In a volatile and increasingly commoditized market, insurers
that play to win will be the ones that benefit from the
switching economy—at the expense of their more conservative
competitors that persist with a defensive strategy.
2
The 2013 Accenture Consumer-Driven
Innovation Survey clearly demonstrates that
insurance customers want more relevant,
convenient and cost-efficient products
and experiences. This research is borne out
by the global, cross-industry 2013 Global
Consumer Pulse Research (see “About the
research” on page 10). These studies also
show customers are prepared to switch
providers if they don’t get what they’re
looking for.
Despite the widely acknowledged upsurge
in expectations, Figure 1 shows that most
insurers have failed to respond by giving
customers what they want.
The fact is that most customers will tolerate
sub-standard, impersonal service—until the
moment when their provider is called on
to do what it is paid to do. This “moment
of truth” may be a renewal, a claim, the
provision of advice on a new need, or simply
the administration of changes to a policy.
These are the trigger events which, if not
managed efficiently and with sensitivity,
may well cause the customer to defect to a
new provider.
The likelihood that a poorly managed
interaction will trigger a switch is
increased by the current high volume
of aggressive price-focused advertising
designed to erode customers’ confidence
in their choice of insurance provider. It
has the effect of reducing loyalty (Figures
2 & 3) and downplaying the difficulty of
switching providers.
As a result, one of the commanding features
of the current insurance landscape is the
high proportion of such events likely to
occur in the next 12 months (see Figure 5).
How real is the threat? A direct
consequence of insurers’ inability to
reinforce customer loyalty, according to
the Accenture 2013 Consumer-Driven
Innovation Survey, is that 40 percent are
likely to switch to a new provider for their
auto and home insurance in “the next 12
months” (Figure 2).
Figure 1. Over the past five years, insurers have been unable to improve customer attitudes
Figure 2. Customer retention is a major
challenge for P&C insurers
Questions:
Are you satisfied?
Do you feel loyal?
Q: How likely are you to stop doing business with
one of your auto and home insurance providers and
switch to another provider in the next 12 months?
Would you recommend to others?
Will you buy more?
9%
50%
31%
40%
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Not very likely
Very unlikely
37%
23%
0%
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Percentage of respondents who scored insurers 1 – 3 on a 10-point scale where 1 = “Not at all”
Home and
auto insurance
3
Figure 3. Churn is lower in life than in P&C insurance, but at least 1 in 10 customers are likely to defect to a new provider
Q: How likely are you, in the next 12 months, to do the following things with regard to life insurance?
10%
6%
10%
26%
26%
36%
35%
21%
7%
27%
25%
18%
25%
29%
32%
32%
32%
33%
37%
36%
36%
39%
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Not very likely
Very unlikely
21%
45%
24%
Renew an existing
contract which is
due to expire
Take out a new
contract with a
current provider
Take out a new
contract with
a new provider
Stop contributing to
an existing contract
but keep it in force
Cancel an
existing contract
Life insurance
The findings for life insurance (Figure 3)
show that this line of business is less volatile;
nonetheless, seven percent of customers are
very likely to stop doing business with one
of their insurance providers in the next 12
months, and 10 percent will take out a new
contract with a new provider.
Using the findings of this study,
Accenture has calculated1 that there
was potentially up to $400 billion in
revenue “in play” globally in 2013 as
personal-lines P&C and life insurance
customers chose to switch providers.
We call it the switching economy, because
it represents existing premium income that
is up for grabs by those insurers that are
best placed to meet customers’ demands.
The dramatic success of direct online
carriers in increasing their share of the
US auto insurance market is one example;
others are the rapid ascent to dominance
of auto insurance aggregators in the United
Kingdom, the strong interest in usage-based
insurance in many parts of the world, and
the advent of numerous online businesses
that offer innovative services specifically
designed to meet customers’ changing
needs (see sidebar, “Bold new ventures
capture customers”).
As if this competitive mix were not already
potent enough, a further factor needs to
be considered: consumers are increasingly
willing to buy insurance from companies
outside of the insurance industry. As Figure
4 shows, the biggest current competitors
come from the adjacent banking industry
and, in the case of auto insurance, auto
dealers. But perhaps even more worrying
over the long term are the 23 percent who
would buy insurance from online companies
like Amazon or Google. The online giants
represent such a potential threat because
of their huge financial resources, up-todate technology and, most important of all,
demonstrated customer-centricity.
The 20 percent who would buy from home
service providers also represents a cloud on
the horizon. It indicates that the propensity
to buy insurance linked to a product or
service, already demonstrated in the case of
auto insurance, holds good across sectors.
In addition to competing for new business,
insurers are thus engaged in a fierce battle
to prevent their existing customers from
being seduced by lower premiums and a
wide array of new and appealing offers.
Until now, as the depressingly flat lines
in Figure 1 confirm, most insurers have
been treading water, essentially playing
to avoid losing. This only works as long as
all competitors adopt the same strategy.
But clearly this isn’t the case. To compete
effectively for the switching economy—
and to prevent their own customers from
defecting—insurers have no choice but to
play to win.
Figure 4. Customers are prepared to buy
insurance from non-insurance companies
Q: Would you consider buying insurance from these
providers? (Yes answers)
Auto dealers
(auto insurance only)
34%
Online service providers
(e.g. Amazon, Google)
Home service providers
Retailers
23%
20%
14%
None of the above
33%
Figure 5. A significant proportion of customers
are planning to renew or purchase insurance
Q: Do you plan to purchase or renew at least one
of your insurance products in the next 12 months?
Renew
Purchase a new product
I do not plan to
purchase or renew
insurance products
58%
72%
14%
28%
4
43%
Banks
Bold new ventures capture customers
While many insurers persist
with a defensive strategy
of playing to avoid losing,
others have achieved
notable success with more
aggressive approaches that
take advantage of digital
innovation to offer customers
better prices or more relevant
services—or both.
The rapid growth of GEICO, Progressive
and USAA’s direct online auto insurance
businesses in the United States is
well documented, as is the stunning
growth of price comparison sites
in the United Kingdom, which are
estimated to influence more than half
of all new motor insurance sales.
Recognizing that price—or value for
money—is a key driver of switching, many
players have launched radical offers that
customers find hard to resist. Progressive’s
Name Your Price is an online tool that
collects basic information from prospective
customers, including their auto insurance
“budget.” It recommends a package that
matches this budget, and then allows the
customer to adjust the price, adding or
removing insurance features to create a
tailored package that achieves the best
balance of suitability and affordability.
device, and top up their insurance when
their miles run low. They are rewarded
with bonus miles for safe driving, and for
purchasing any of a wide variety of goods
from the insurer’s ecosystem of retail
partners. Retention is strengthened by the
customers’ perception that their insurance
is priced specifically for them, as well as by
the appeal of the loyalty program.
Price matters a great deal in the life sector
too, where novel start-ups are using digital
technology to lure customers who are
loath to pay the fees many advisors charge.
FutureAdvisor invites clients to supply
all of their financial data and sufficient
personal data to create unique investment
profiles. Its software program applies
investment best practices to its customers’
investment portfolios, sending them regular
impartial recommendations for optimizing
their portfolios. This service is free.
Customers only pay when they commission
FutureAdvisor to carry out the changes on
their behalf, which they are only likely to do
if and when the advice proves to be sound.
While price is a major factor behind
switching, it is certainly not the only one—a
Datamonitor survey2 found that only 37
percent of respondents who bought auto
insurance from a UK comparison site
selected the lowest quote. Reputation,
flexibility, convenience, personalized advice
and innovation are just a few of the factors
that influence the choice.
A different approach to making auto
insurance affordable is the telematics
concept offered by the UK online carrier
Insurethebox. Customers buy miles of
coverage in advance. They then allow their
car usage to be monitored by an onboard
5
Time to play to win
The majority of insurance
customers across both P&C
and Life are poised to renew
an existing product or buy a
new one—a moment-of-truth
milestone that can often act as
a prompt to switch (Figure 5).
In short, insurance customers are
predisposed to switch. They will also, over
the course of the next year, continue to
experience a number of “moments of
truth” which will cause them to evaluate
their providers against the standards
they have set for them. These standards
will increasingly be suggested by the
experiences they receive from providers in
other industries.
As mentioned earlier, four out of 10 are likely
to switch P&C providers while one out of 10
will probably turn to a new life provider.
In the face of low customer satisfaction and
loyalty, and a disinclination to recommend
and buy more, few insurers are likely to
score well in such an evaluation.
Consumers have certainly shown their
propensity to change their behavior in
other ways relating to insurance: their use
of different channels (Figure 6) and their
willingness to buy online (Figure 7) are just
two of the more important trends.
In addition, regulatory regimes in many
European countries now favor consumer
choice (and thus switching) by preventing
automatic renewal of policies and
standardizing no-penalty cancellations.
What must never be forgotten in assessing
what factors will trigger a customer to
switch is the eternal quest for a better
price or higher value. In P&C insurance,
price and value for money are the stated
reason for 45 percent of all switches. These
were also the key drivers for switching
in life insurance in 2012.3 Increasingly,
though, price and value for money are likely
to become integrated into how the total
customer experience is rated.
In turn, innovation will become increasingly
important, not only to help insurers keep
pace with customer expectations but also
to meet the challenge of providing better
value for money. (See the sidebar on page 5,
“Bold new ventures capture customers,” for
an exploration of how price interacts with
other variables in the switching economy.)
Only one conclusion is possible: the time
for defensive strategies is over. Insurers
now need to take decisive action to retain
their existing customers—who are typically
more profitable and who are candidates
for additional products and services—and
to position themselves to attract the
disaffected customers of their competitors.
The switching economy is thus a great
opportunity but also a great risk.
One thing is clear: it’s time to play to win.
Figure 6: In the past two years, more customers have turned to digital channels when buying insurance
Q: When did you first purchase insurance through the following channels?
Channels used for over 2 years
38%
62%
Your employer
Less than 2 years ago
More than 2 years ago
6
39%
61%
Independent
agent / broker
Most recent channels
39%
52%
57%
60%
48%
43%
40%
62%
61%
Insurance agent
Bank
Insurance company
telephone service
Retailer
38%
Online
$400bn
40%
72%
71%
of insurance premiums are in play
in 2013
of P&C customers are likely to
stop doing business with a current
provider and switch to a new one
in the next 12 months
1 in 10
life customers are likely to
defect to a new provider in
the next 12 months
of customers are willing
to purchase insurance online
of insurance customers are
planning to renew or purchase
insurance in the next year
Figure 7. To meet customers’ changing expectations, insurers must accommodate their
growing preference for digital channels
Q: Which products would you be willing to purchase online?
40%
Travel and assistance insurance
Extended warranty
35%
Home insurance
35%
Long-term car insurance
34%
Life insurance
30%
Short-term car insurance
26%
Event ticket cancellation
23%
Spectacles and lens insurance
Winter sports insurance
71% would be
interested in buying
at least one of these
products online
21%
12%
7
Every customer is a digital customer
While price continues to play
the major role in triggering
this switching behavior, as
noted above, the massive
switching economy in
insurance is increasingly
being driven also by changing
customer dynamics enabled
by digital technologies.
Digital is playing a key role in making it
easier for customers to research alternative
providers’ value propositions, and promoting
the “click and change” mentality that
already pervades retail.
Today’s customers are empowered by
technology and are demanding that
the personalization provided by leading
companies in one sector be replicated in
other sectors, including insurance. They’re
looking for a set of experiences that are
convenient and relevant to their specific
circumstances. Insurance customers, in line
with consumers across all industries, regard
themselves less and less as purchasers of
products, and more and more as architects
of the lifestyle to which they aspire.
Figure 8. Most customers would switch to an
insurer that provided personalized services
their phones and 46 percent their tablets
(Figure 9). Almost half of all respondents
depend on comments on social media to
make their insurance-buying decisions
(Figure 10).
Figure 8 shows that a high proportion
of insurance customers want a more
personalized service from their carriers.
It’s also important to understand that
while customers move at different speeds,
the vast majority of them are using digital
channels for at least some transactions.
Even “traditional” customers are using
online facilities to research their choices.
The growth in the convenience and
functionality—and the widespread adoption—
of mobile devices like smartphones and
tablets is driving this trend.
Now that every customer is a digital
customer, a new sales dynamic is developing.
Whereas the path to purchase used to be
linear—the traditional “sales funnel”—it’s
now a dynamic, iterative, reinforcing process,
which Accenture represents in its Dynamic
Customer Experience Model (Figure 11).
As noted above, it’s a process that the
customer now largely controls. Companies
that are playing to win recognize that today’s
customers will define their own experiences
based on their personal expectations and the
lifestyle they want.
Accenture believes that digital technologies
and analytics are now mature enough
to permit insurers to deliver relevant,
personalized experiences at scale, using
the channels preferred by the customer.
This channel, for many interactions, is likely
to be the agent, so a key part of digital
transformation must include enhancing the
agent experience.
However, as the research makes clear,
companies across sectors have fallen
short in responding to this challenge, and
insurance is no exception (Figure 1).
To respond to this new model, and
improve the customer metrics that drive
switching, insurers need to become
much more customer-centric. Customercentricity in this dynamic environment
is only achievable through digital
transformation, Accenture believes.
Customers’ desire for different, more
convenient experiences takes various forms:
71 percent are ready to purchase products
and services online (Figure 7), and well over
one in three of those with mobile devices
have used them to deal with their insurer in
the past two years—37 percent have used
Figure 9. Mobile devices are becoming increasingly popular for interacting with insurers
Q: Have you used your mobile device in the past two years to deal online with your insurer?
Q. How important would a personalized service be in
your decision to stop doing business with your current
provider or switch to another in the next 12 months?
Very important
Somewhat important
Not very important
Not important at all
30%
80%
50%
To get information on
insurance products & services
6%
8
21%
To get advice
19%
15%
To update your personal details
To make a claim
25%
16%
To obtain a quote
To apply for/ purchase an
insurance product or service
14%
Yes – my tablet
Yes – my mobile phone
20%
14%
13%
9%
7%
37% have used their
mobile phone for at least
one of these interactions
Base: respondents who own a mobile phone, and own a tablet.
10%
9%
46% have used their
tablet for at least one of
these interactions
Figure 10. Almost half of all customers rely
on comments on social media to make their
insurance buying decisions
Q: If you were to consider buying insurance, how
important would the comments and recommendations
on social media sites be in helping you decide which
product and provider to choose?
14%
48%
Very important
Somewhat important
Not very important
Not important at all
34%
80%
of insurance customers say that
personalized service would play
a major role in switching providers
46%
of customers with tablets, and
37% of those with mobile phones,
have used these devices to deal
with their insurers
48%
25%
of customers rely on comments on
social media to buy insurance
27%
Figure 11. The customer’s path to purchase used to be linear; now, the journey is dynamic, accessible and continuous
From the traditional sales funnel...
... to the Accenture Dynamic Customer Experience Model
Discover
Discover
Purchase
Consider
Expectation
Promise
Evaluate
Evaluate
Consider
Purchase
Use
Reality
Delivery
Use
Open content & channels
Branded content & channels
Dynamic
Accessible
Continuous
Paths are multi-directional
at different speeds
Influence of “open”
content is pervasive and
difficult to control
Evaluation, not purchase,
is central; promise is more
important than delivery
9
About the research
Most of the data is drawn from the
Accenture 2013 Consumer-Driven
Innovation Survey in which 6,135 insurance
policyholders across 11 countries responded
online between July 4 and July 25. It
covered the automotive, home and life
sectors. Salient demographics are depicted
in Figure 12.
The Accenture 2013 Global Consumer
Pulse Research is used to corroborate the
findings. It is the ninth annual survey of
the consumer landscape across 10 industry
sectors. The 2013 study engaged with
12,867 end-consumers in 32 different
countries via the Internet between May
28 and June 6, 2013. Respondents were
asked to evaluate 10 industry sectors (up
to four industries per respondent). One of
these industries was property and casualty
insurance. The Global Consumer Pulse
Research provides the broader consumer
context plus corroboration for the findings
of the Consumer-Driven Innovation Survey.
In the 2012 study, life insurance was one
of the industries, so these figures are used
where appropriate for illustrative purposes.
Figure 12. The Accenture 2013 Consumer-Driven Innovation Survey
6,135 insurance policy holders were surveyed online in 11 countries in July 2013
2,168
2,098
answered the survey
regarding their
auto insurance
1,869
answered the survey
regarding their
home insurance
answered the
survey regarding
their life insurance
Respondent age
Countries
18-24 years
China
510 (8%)
Germany
510 (8%)
USA
1,012
(19%)
818
25-34 years
1,424
(23%)
35-44 years
1,386
(23%)
45-54 years
South Africa
511 (8%)
Canada
511 (8%)
Spain
511 (8%)
France
511 (8%)
UK
511 (8%)
Italy
520 (9%)
Over 54 years
Brazil
516 (8%)
Respondent gender group
Japan
512 (8%)
1,316
1,191
Men
3,070
Women
3,065
(50%)
(50%)
Total: 6,135 (100%)
10
(13%)
(22%)
(19%)
Playing to win: The new business model
for the customer-centric digital insurer
Confronted by the reality of a massive potential switching
economy, insurers must take the offensive, make some bets and
take some calculated risks to retain the customers they already
have and attract those who are considering defecting from
other, less dynamic providers.
In the quest to create experiences that are valued by customers,
insurers must base their customer-experience blueprints on five
core elements, described on the next few pages.
11
1. Know me — customer relevance
Insurance customers are
following broader consumer
trends—they are empowered
and they want relevant
advice and offers provided in
convenient ways. They expect
their provider to know them,
and to interact accordingly.
As Figure 13 shows, 82 percent of insurance
customers across all lines of business would
be prepared to give access to their personal
information if that allowed their carriers to
optimize their insurance coverage. Almost
as many would be prepared to do the same
to access more personalized products.
In the same vein, insurance customers are
starting to expect their insurers to offer
risk-management services. Ninety-two
percent say it’s important their provider
goes beyond merely insuring their risks to
helping them reduce risk: a clear indication
that they are looking beyond basic delivery
of insurance products (Figure 14).
Insurers that can build a reputation
for tailoring valuable services while
safeguarding the personal data they collect
for this purpose will have a meaningful
competitive advantage.
Key take-out: Use analytics effectively to
leverage big data (including information
mined from social media and other
channels), generating the insights needed
to stay one step ahead of the customer.
Personalization clearly emerges as a key
driver in retaining existing customers and
attracting new ones (Figure 8). Perhaps
even more important for the future: more
than 40 percent of insurance customers
are willing to pay more for personalized
advice or assistance when purchasing
insurance, a number which has increased by
6 percentage points since 2010 (Figure 15).
To be customer-relevant, insurers will
have to develop the ability to share
customer preferences, interactions, and
other customer data across channels; and
predict customer behavior and use those
predictions to personalize interactions at
any point in time and in any channel.
Figure 13. Four out of five customers would be willing to provide personal information
in return for certain benefits
Figure 14. Customers expect their insurance
provider to help them manage their risks
Q: Would you be comfortable for your insurance provider to access information on your usage/behavior in order
to optimize your insurance coverage and insurance premium, as well as offer you more personalized products?*
Q: How important is it that your insurance provider,
in addition to insuring you against loss, helps you
reduce the risks that may result in this loss
(e.g., information and advice on how to reduce
risks of loss or injury)?
36%
35%
18%
To optimize your
insurance coverage
45%
19%
To optimize your
insurance premium
Yes
It depends on the information
No
*Question adapted from two separate questions
12
78%
81%
82%
47%
32%
It is something critical
for me
It would be good but
this is not critical for me
I do not see any value
for me and my family
44%
46%
92%
22%
To offer more
personalized products
48%
8%
82%
81%
92%
41%
of insurance customers would
give carriers access to usage/
behavior information to
optimize insurance coverage
of insurance customers would give
carriers access to usage/ behavior
information to optimize premiums
78%
of insurance customers would
give carriers access to usage/
behavior information to get more
personalized products
of insurance customers would be
prepared to pay more to get personalized
advice when purchasing automotive,
home or life insurance products
of insurance customers
would like insurers to help
them manage risk
Figure 15. Customers are increasingly willing to pay more to get personalized advice or
assistance when buying insurance
Q: Would you be willing to pay more to get personalized advice or assistance when buying insurance?
5%
30%
10%
35%
31%
41%
Yes, certainly
Yes, probably
No, probably not
No, certainly not
Q
48%
40%
17%
19%
2010
2013
13
2. Show me you know me — relationships
at scale
The provider-customer
relationship is coming full
circle. Technology is making
it possible to replicate, for
today’s mass markets, some of
the intimacy of the old-style
insurance agent who knew his
customers personally.
Accenture believes that this ability to
manage relationships at scale will be the
difference between winners and losers in
the insurance market over the next five
years. By seamlessly integrating digital with
agent/broker and contact-center channels,
insurers can provide even greater degrees of
personalization and advice at the point of
customer need.
Cloud-based customer relationship
management solutions can help insurers
develop a single view of the customer across
channels and lines of business.
Social media present an opportunity for
carriers to listen and learn more about
their customers: what they think, what
matters to them, and how they act. They
also provide a forum to interact and
14
engage in informed, meaningful ways. In
particular, the convergence of social media
and mobility can help insurers create new
opportunities for increasing customer
intimacy by interactions that are both more
frequent and relevant through offering
context-related advice or offers.
Using analytics and cloud solutions, insurers
can now take advantage of real-time data
from existing and new sources to gauge
and refine risk accurately as they create
direct and multi-channel relationships
with customers and with partners such as
brokers. In time, we believe that insurers
will purchase data from third parties or,
more likely, share data with new sets
of partners to enable them to identify
customer life events with purchase, renewal
or retention significance, such as moving
house or a new child.
Relationships at scale depend on
more than simply understanding what
individual customers want. They require a
sophisticated operating model that includes
an automated experience engine that can
recommend the “next best action”, enable
this action, measure the impact, and
feed this result back into the system to
continually refine the experience.
Key take out: Provide the tailored service
that customers have come to expect,
avoid broken promises, and build trust by
being responsible with personal data.
3. Delight me — seamless experience
Customers’ use of digital
channels is increasing in
insurance, but traditional
channels such as agents and
brokers are holding their
own—if not for all lines of
business and all types of
interaction, then certainly for
many important ones.4
The key point here is that today’s
and tomorrow’s customers
expect their experience to be
consistent across all channels.
As shown in Figure 16, insurance
customers want to be able to use multiple
channels to interact with providers, with
the percentages changing depending
on the type of action contemplated.
In all, only half of consumers across
multiple industries are satisfied with
their ability to access customer service
and support using multiple channels.5
Our cross-industry research reveals that
significant percentages of consumers
become frustrated when companies market
the same offers or ask the same questions
time and again, when they are presented
with inconsistent offers on different
channels, and when they cannot access
information or buy products or services
using the channel of their choice.
Delighting customers by providing a seamless
experience across multiple channels requires
more than just bolting on new technologies
to a traditional model: this will not create the
necessary integrated view of the customer
or household. Insurers must think not just
in terms of channels but of transforming
the underlying digital platforms needed to
provide seamless experiences across current
and future channels.
Key take-out: Upgrade the operating
model and align the channel mix
to meet customer needs, and make
sure that customer experiences
are consistent and excellent.
Insurance customers expect to vary
channels based on transaction:
68%
would prefer to update
personal details online
46%
would prefer to meet with
a representative to get advice
48%
would prefer to phone
in claims
52%
would prefer to apply for
or purchase insurance online
Figure 16. Customers expect to use multiple channels to meet their various needs
Q: How would you prefer to interact with your insurance provider(s) for each of the following actions?
Meet a representative
Phone a customer service / call center
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
Online (PC, mobile, tablet)
Send / receive a letter
68%
60%
54%
45%
52%
43%
38%
31%
52%
47%
50%
48%
49%
45%
46%
34%
33%
34%
12%
11%
9%
Change the
terms of your
policy
Apply for /
buy insurance
46%
44%
43%
29%
34%
27%
13%
8%
Update your
personal details
Obtain a quote
Get information
on insurance
products / services
11%
Make a claim
13%
7%
Cancel / close
a contract*
Get advice
*Only for life insurance
15
4. Enable me — inherently mobile
While Internet access using
personal computers or laptops
was the first step in enabling
customers to use digital
channels, the real gamechanger has been the growth
in mobile.
range of insurance products online, among
them travel and assistance insurance,
extended warranties, home insurance,
long-term auto insurance and life insurance.
Thirty-seven percent of customers have
used their mobile phone to deal with their
insurers in the past two years (Figure 9).
A little more than one in three are thrilled
with the services currently provided on
mobile devices (Figure 17). Expanding
opportunities for mobile interaction and
support should be a key priority in the quest
to improve the customer experience.
Now consumers are theoretically connected
at all times, and expect the same of their
insurance companies. The move to mobile,
in particular, opens new opportunities
for collaboration—between customers
and agents, between customers and the
insurance firm, and externally between
the firm and the various members of its
ecosystem, such as its claims assessors and
procurement partners.
Figure 18 shows 67 percent of insurance
customers are interested in new services
being offered on mobile devices, such as the
ability to take a photograph with a mobile
phone in the case of a car accident, and to
send it to the insurance provider.
example, injury insurance offered on a ski
slope or a claim submitted from an accident
scene with supporting photographs. At a
less specialized level, the increasing use of
mobile devices by customers simply means
that insurers must be equipped to interact
appropriately on that channel, especially
given the expectation of immediacy.
In general, farsighted insurers should be
building a variety of new mobile capabilities
with which to engage their customers in
ways they have not yet imagined.
Key take-out: Create compelling mobile
interactions that build increasing use
of this channel—and that establish your
company as mobile-savvy.
The mobile channel pre-eminently offers
insurers the opportunity to take customer
relevance to the next level by tailoring
offers and interactions to the physical
context. Location-based interaction can be
highly relevant in insurance; consider, for
The past two years have seen a shift in
customer buying patterns across insurance.
New channels such as banks, retailers
and online have become more prominent
(Figure 6). In fact, as Figure 7 shows, a large
majority of customers are prepared to buy a
Figure 17. Slightly more than one in three customers are very impressed by the mobile services insurers currently provide
Q: How would you rate the services provided on mobile channels (smartphone and/or tablet) by your insurance providers?
On smartphones
To cancel/close a contract*
28%
To change the terms of your policy
27%
To make a claim
To apply for/purchase insurance
31%
28%
On tablets
51%
57%
21%
33%
50%
17%
16%
33%
53%
14%
52%
17%
33%
53%
14%
57%
15%
33%
56%
11%
To get information on insurance
32%
56%
12%
40%
51%
9%
To obtain a quote
33%
54%
13%
38%
53%
9%
To update your details
32%
56%
12%
38%
53%
9%
Excellent
Fair
Poor
*Only for life insurance
Base: respondents who own a mobile phone, and own a tablet.
16
Figure 18. Customers are interested in being offered mobile-enabled insurance services
Q: Would you be interested in the following new mobile-enabled insurance services?
Sending accident photos to record your claim
44%
Displaying your proof of insurance
38%
Sending a photo of your car and driver’s license to receive an insurance quote
35%
Texting your insurer for an update on a claim/ request or for other information
34%
Interacting with an insurance representative through a smartphone with video
31%
Having access to an iPad/ tablet app for interactive analysis of your needs
29%
27%
Being able to buy short-term travel insurance via a smartphone app or a text message
24%
Extra services related to your non-insurance needs
Being able to store and manage insurance documents in a secure personal area of your mobile device
Access to insurers and insurance information via social media applications
You are interested in none of the services mentioned above
67% would be
interested in
at least one of
these services
23%
19%
33%
Multiple mentions
>33%
of insurance customers are very
impressed by the mobile services
insurers currently provide
67%
of insurance customers would
be interested in being offered
insurance services via their
mobile devices
17
5. Value me — naturally social
Social media have
fundamentally changed the
way people interact with
each other, and with their
service providers.
They are no longer a channel distinctly
separated in consumers’ minds. Instead they
are the “new normal”—just another way for
consumers to communicate, collaborate
and get information. Social media have
decisively shifted the balance of power from
the service provider to the customer: the
latter now has a platform from which to
broadcast dissatisfaction or pleasure, and to
collaborate instantly with other customers.
People generally are using social media
sites more and more—and they are using
them to make purchase decisions. Almost
half of all insurance customers regard
comments on social media as very or
somewhat important in making their
insurance buying decisions (Figure 10).
A significant proportion of this group is
already using social media for a range of
insurance-related activities, and more plan
to do so in the next two years (Figure 19).
Most important of all, as shown in Figure
20, over half of insurance customers would
be interested in a broad range of services
being offered via social media.
Social media thus offer insurers a
channel through which to gain a deeper
understanding of their customers, to
communicate with them and to build trust.
This can go a long way to countering the
growing commoditization of insurance,
giving customers a reason to resist
marketing campaigns based mainly on price.
Smart insurers will use the information they
glean from social media to create and refine
the personalized experiences that customers
want. They will also empower their agents
to make the most of social networks—to “be
where their customers are” and to increase
their productivity. They will pass on their
customer insights to their agents, equip
them with tools such as microsites, and
train them to use social media to source,
nurture and manage sales leads.
To do all this they may need to think beyond
their own capabilities, and create a social
network of their own. By partnering with
other providers, who offer related services,
they could build an ecosystem that goes
further toward helping their customers
achieve the lifestyles to which they aspire.
A wake-up call for insurers generally is that
many of their customers simply don’t know
what the firm is doing, or proposing to do,
on social media (Figure 21). Insurers must
communicate better to ensure that their
social media presence and offerings are well
understood by customers and consumers
in general. This is particularly important
in the switching economy, as dissatisfied
customers look around for an insurer more
in tune with their needs.
Key take-out: Use social media as a
way to listen to what customers are
saying—and then use those insights
to engage more meaningfully with
customers, crafting better interactions
and solutions that ultimately build
trust-based relationships.
Figure 19. A significant proportion of customers are likely to use social networks for their insurance needs in the next two years
Q: Have you used social media sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, blogs and consumer review sites) to do any of the following? If not, is it something you may start doing
in the next two years?
Request information on an insurance product or service
28%
18%
28%
17%
45%
Share positive comments/ provide feedback on insurance products/
services when you are satisfied
26%
18%
44%
Share negative comments/ provide feedback on insurance products/
services when you are dissatisfied
27%
16%
43%
27%
16%
43%
Request advice on the best insurance product/ service to meet your needs
Get a quote for an insurance product or service
Submit an insurance claim
No, but I am considering doing it in the next two years
Yes, I have already used social media
18
27%
10%
37%
46%
Figure 20. The majority of customers would be interested in insurance services offered on social media
Q: Would you be interested in any of these services that your insurer may offer on social media?
34%
Promotions & discounts
33%
Responses to customers’ service complaints & comments
30%
Information on new products & services
29%
The use of customer feedback to improve products & services or to create new products
55% would be
interested in at
least one of
these services
26%
Customer service assistance
iPad/ tablet apps for interactive analysis of needs to improve knowledge of insurance
and risk mitigation
24%
Use of personal data to create personalized products or service recommendations
19%
A full “agency” service: all required services via instant messaging, applications, videos
19%
Interaction with your provider via live chat (text or video) for personalized support or advice
18%
Participation in insurance-related computer games
14%
None of the above – I have no interest in my insurance provider leveraging social media
45%
Multiple mentions
Figure 21. Insurers have an opportunity
to improve the way they use social media
in order to capitalize on them fully
Q: What do you think of the presence and
services of insurers on social media?
23%
17%
I am satisfied
I am not satisfied
I don’t know what
insurers are doing or
offering on social media
48%
of customers feel that comments posted
on social media sites are important in the
selection of insurance products and providers
60%
of customers do not know what
insurance providers are doing or
offering on social media
55%
of customers would be interested
in insurance products and services
offered on social media
60%
19
The youth market is key to future-proofing
insurance
Many of the trends noted
in this report are even clearer
when research results are
sorted according to age.
Unsurprisingly, the shift towards digital
channels and all of the associated
behavior are emphasized in the youth
market (ages 18 to 34). Accenture
Research concludes that successful
digital transformation will be necessary
for insurers to realize the opportunities
offered by the younger generation.
Key data points from the survey that
insurers should consider:
• The younger the customer, the greater
his or her propensity to switch providers
(Figure 22).
• The younger the customers, the more
likely they are to want their insurance
provider to act as a risk manager (Figure
23). In line with this, younger customers
are more willing to pay for personalized
advice or assistance when purchasing
insurance (Figure 24).
• Younger customers are more digital, more
interested in innovative services like
gamification and mobile-enabled services,
and they pay more attention to comments
posted on social media (Figures 25-28).
However, insurers must be alive to nuance.
The greater openness of the younger
generations to online channels should not
mask the reality that face-to-face channels
like agents and brokers remain important,
for significant segments within this group
as well as others.
This is because younger people, who are less
familiar with insurance than their parents,
may require more hand-holding. The
Accenture 2013 US Personal Lines Consumer
Survey bears this contention out, with 32
percent of 18-to-24 year olds wanting an
insurance quote delivered to them in person.
This is higher than any other age group
except those between 65 and 74 years.
Another nuance that should not be missed:
the digital generation is made up of
consumers of most ages. Large and growing
numbers of people from older age cohorts
are digital-savvy, something that insurers
must factor into their marketing and
distribution strategies.
75%
of customers between 18 and 34 will be
renewing existing insurance or purchasing
new insurance in the next 12 months
48%
of the 18 to 24 age group, and 51% of the
25 to 34 age group, are likely to switch home
and auto insurance providers during the next
12 months
54%
of the 18 to 24 age group, and 52% of the 25
to 34 age group, are willing to pay more to
get personalized advice or assistance when
purchasing insurance
Figure 22. Younger customers are more likely to switch providers than their older counterparts
Q: How likely are you to stop doing business with one of your auto or home insurance providers and to buy from another provider in the next 12 months?
11%
37%
10%
12%
48%
39%
51%
30%
5%
40%
23%
38%
36%
37%
31%
15%
18%
18-24
25-34
Base: respondents having auto and/or home insurance products
20
24%
35-54
34%
55+
28%
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Not very likely
Very unlikely
Figure 23. Younger customers place the
highest value on risk management advice
Figure 24. Younger customers are more likely to pay a premium for personalized insurance
advice and assistance
Q: How important is it that your insurance
provider, in addition to insuring you against loss,
helps you reduce the risks that may result in this
loss (e.g., advice on how to prevent loss or injury)?
Q: Would you be willing to pay more to get personalized advice or assistance when buying insurance?
51%
13%
9%
15%
28%
49%
41%
43%
41%
18-24
25-34
22%
37%
38%
34%
Yes, certainly
Yes, probably
No, probably not
No, certainly not
5%
45%
35%
22%
12%
13%
18-24
25-34
35-54
28%
55+
55+
35-54
It is critically important to me
Figure 25. Younger customers are more
Figure 26. Younger customers would be more likely to embrace innovative insurance services
receptive to the idea of buying insurance online such as gamification
Q: Would you be willing to purchase insurance online?
79%
81%
70%
Q: Would you be interested in a computer game that your insurance provider offered to help you better
manage the risks you face and to optimize your insurance premiums?
67%
58%
23%
Very interested
Somewhat interested
66%
52%
24%
17%
35%
10%
44%
18-24
25-34
35-54
42%
35%
25%
55+
Yes I would
18-24
25-34
35-54
55+
Simulation game could show the impact of your actions & decisions on the risks you
face as well as on the cost of your insurance
Figure 27. Younger customers are more frequent users of mobile devices to reach
their insurers
Figure 28. Younger customers pay more attention
to recommendations on social media sites
Q: Have you used your mobile device to interact with your insurer in the past 2 years?
Q: If you were to consider buying insurance,
how important would the comments and
recommendations on social media sites be in helping
you decide which product and provider to choose?
% used a smartphone/ mobile phone
18-24
49%
25-34
48%
% used an iPad/ tablet
56%
Very important
Somewhat
important
63%
61%
35-54
55+
60%
33%
20%
19%
40%
45%
13%
27%
21%
28%
43%
42%
7%
32%
20%
Base: respondents who have a mobile phone/ tablet
18-24
25-34
35-54
55+
21
Creating customer experiences that
drive loyalty
All the current research
undertaken by Accenture
agrees to a remarkable
extent. Today’s and
tomorrow’s consumers are
increasingly moving online,
and they are demanding
a highly personalized and
relevant experience, rather
than just products.
Only those insurers with the digital
capabilities and flexible operating model to
adapt effectively to the changing demands
of customers, and the ability to provide
the advice they are seeking, will be able to
retain and further penetrate their existing
customer base and attract the large numbers
of dissatisfied customers who are set to leave
their less farsighted providers.
At a strategic, conceptual level, insurers
need to give careful thought to how
they move from simply selling products
to providing useful experiences. The
importance of personalization for survey
respondents, and their willingness to pay
more for personalized advice and better
cover, are highly significant. Equally
significant is the finding that even though
most consumers consider their risk profiles
average or low, 44 percent regard it as
critical that their insurance providers help
them manage that risk (Figure 14).
1. Understand the new customer
dynamic.
Business has always known that the customer
is central, but in the past the impetus was
almost entirely from the company out to its
clients. Digital technologies have changed
that dynamic completely, and customers (and
consumers more generally) now have the
capability to compare a provider’s products
and overall customer experience with those
of its competitors, both within the industry
and across industries. Control has essentially
passed to the customer, and thus the kind of
experience the insurer offers its customers is
now absolutely critical.
2. Fine-tune business models and
use technology to enable the
customer experience intelligently.
Across industries, the rise of digital channels
and the shifting of the center of gravity
towards the customer have fuelled a
tendency towards simplification of the sales
process, a “retailization,” if you will. Many
insurers have jumped on this bandwagon,
and are spending vast sums of advertising
money to convince customers that insurance
products are simple and can be bought
simply. They are, in essence, trying to move
insurance out of the low-frequency, highcomplexity category into one that is higher
frequency and lower complexity—more like
buying a T-shirt or some specialty tea.
In short, carriers that develop the necessary
digital capabilities, and that implement
sufficiently flexible business and operating
models, can differentiate themselves from
competitors. By doing so, they will protect
their existing, profitable customer base, and
position themselves to attract customers
who are switching providers.
The problem with this is that most insurance
products are—and remain—inherently
complex. By offering a complex product in a
retailized environment, insurers are creating
a tension that has the potential to rip apart
their underlying business models. This type
of environment is, by nature, volatile because
customers believe that switching providers is
simple, and the margins simply do not reflect
the costs and operational requirements of a
complex product’s back end.
Accenture believes that would-be customercentric digital insurers must bear in mind the
two fundamental (and interrelated) drivers:
It must also be added here that some
customer needs are genuinely simple—
insurance for a new cell phone, for example—
22
and can be met by a simple product sold
simply. Insurers that overcomplicate their
products and experiences to meet such
simple needs will lose out in the end.
However, most insurance products have
some level of complexity and need greater
expertise on the part of the provider—but
the imperative for a simplified customerfacing front end remains. Insurers also need
to bear in mind that, over time, education
and improved offerings will make even the
most complex offerings simple
Insurance companies that recognize this
disconnect and put in place technologies to
drive a different operating model that can
handle the simple front end and complex back
end will be the ultimate winners. In other
words, the key to high performance for the
insurer of the future will be to package and
deliver complexity in a way that customers
find easy to understand and use, yet which
does not downplay the complex nature of
the solution. By building their brands and
gaining acceptance as trusted advisors,
insurers can maintain their differentiation
against a tide of commoditization.
Understanding and mastering this tension
between complexity and simplicity will be
the ultimate barrier to entry protecting
carriers against new entrants into the
insurance market.
These two drivers, of course, do not operate
in isolation but together. It’s thus perhaps
worth pointing out that the flexible operating
model described in the second driver must be
used to innovate and transform continually
the customer experience described in
the first. This capability also provides
the opportunity to build a trust-based
relationship with customers, and to become a
long-term partner, a risk manager rather than
just an insurer. To achieve this, carriers must
be prepared to conceptualize their business
more broadly, and be willing to create
ecosystems of partners who together can
provide the total, personalized and convenient
experience today’s digital customers want.
One can see this playing out in the United
Kingdom and Australia, and to some extent
in the United States, where the retailization
of insurance (particularly automobile
insurance) is well under way.
Insurers have a choice as they seek to remain
competitive and protect their margins. One
option is to become the infrastructure for an
aggregator that is offering a suite of financial
services products of which insurance is one.
This is the indirect model.
A second option would be for the insurer to
seize the opportunity of expanding its role
to offer a much wider customer experience,
one that spans new markets and a range of
new products.
A good example of a company that has
chosen this latter option is USAA. Originally
only an insurance company, it now delivers a
full range of financial and other services to
its customers in the US military. For example,
it has become one of the largest vendors of
diamond engagement rings in America. By
listening to its customers, it realized that
military personnel on active duty had no
way to buy such items for sweethearts back
home. By providing that facility, it integrates
itself into its customers’ lives as a true
partner and not just an insurer or a bank.
Another service it offers is buying an
automobile, offering a simple solution to an
inherently complex need. Members simply
state what type of car they want and how
much they wish to pay each month, and
USAA negotiates an all-in-one price that
includes purchase, financing and, of course,
insurance. This approach implies deep
trust and flexible business and operating
models that enable the company to keep on
innovating the customer experience it offers.
23
Developing a winning game plan
Having defined their strategic
intent, carriers confront the
pressing question of how to
build the digital and other
capabilities needed to turn
strategy into reality.
Accenture believes that insurers need to
seize the first-mover advantage in each of
the five elements identified above—customer
relevance, relationships at scale, seamless
experience, naturally social and inherently
mobile—but only within the context of a
broad strategy and defined road map.
In creating their own digital strategy and
road map for reaching it, insurers need to be
aware of the difference between true digital
transformation and the mere digitization
of existing business processes. The latter
may be a first step in certain instances, and
may generate marginal improvements in
efficiency, but in the end it falls short and
simply makes the operating model more
complex. Many insurers fall into the trap of
trying to provide simplified, digitized front
ends to their customers without taking into
account the complexity of the back office
and, indeed, of the product or solution.
To solve this challenge, insurers need to
take an outside-in approach that focuses
on the customer, on the kinds of experience
he or she demands, and on growth. This
will help them understand the products,
services and capabilities they need to
achieve growth, and following on from
that, the operating model, the systems
consolidation and the transformation
they need. Ultimately it will define the
type of organization they must become.
This transformation will be effected across
four primary capabilities: cross-channel
excellence, customer-centricity and
personalization, operational simplicity,
and superior execution agility. Of these,
the most important is probably agility,
because the only thing one can say about
the insurance environment with any degree
of certainty, is that it will change. Having
adaptable, outward-focused business
and operating models gives the insurer a
distinct advantage over competitors that
are encumbered by product-centric models
and offerings that simply reflect their
organizational structures.
The progression to digital maturity can take
many forms, but there are certain attributes
and capabilities that lay a platform for
others that follow. In our experience there
are four broadly defined stages along this
path (Figure 29):
1. The first stage is characterized by the
insurer having a few digital systems that are
limited in their features and flexibility.
2. At the second stage, the priority
is to do the basics right. Some of
the channels are integrated and
process digitization is underway.
3. Having got the basics right, insurers are
now in a position to become interactive.
Their integrated multi-channel architecture
and the sophisticated use of analytics allow
them to enhance the customer experience
and sell more effectively across digital as
well as traditional channels.
4. The final stage of the journey is the
holistic, omni-channel and fully customercentric insurer that offers consumers
insurance “where you are at the precise
moment you want it.” At this point, the
insurer has moved from defending its
position to taking the offensive: playing
to win the ongoing loyalty of existing
customers and to attract new ones
from competitors that have not been as
successful in their transformation.
Achieving these capabilities will require
profound changes across the entire
insurance value chain. The goal will thus
not be achieved overnight, nor in the same
sequence for each insurer. However, the
general trajectory is toward the end goal
of becoming an agile, externally-focused
insurer with fully digital front and back ends.
Figure 29. The road map to digital excellence is a four-step journey
Do the basics right
Innovate and transform, providing
leading-edge customer experiences
Holistic omni-channel insurer
Interactive insurer
Connected insurer
Standalone insurer
• Legacy
• Optimized branch network and
contact center
• Enhanced digital channels
• Basic multi-channel integration
• Needs-based offering and
consistent sales behaviors
• Electronic record management
Digital objectives, organization and strategy definition
24
• Integrated multi-channel
architecture
• Analytics-enabled insurance
(event management, etc.)
• Advanced digital advisory capability
• Needs-based offering optimized
by channels
• Mobile-enabled salesforce
and customers
• Extension of self-service offerings
• Paperless workflow
• Insurance where you are, when you
want, using the power of mobile
• Leveraging of external customer
data and social media to create
customer intimacy and understand
personal interests
• One-stop shop
• Customer relationships conducted
on channels such as social media
favored by customers
• Leveraging of influencers
• Co-creation with customers
• Real-time prospective analytics
• Collaborative and virtual workplace
25
26
Conclusion: Prepare for the future
by listening to customers now
Accenture’s research
shows that insurers face
a significant risk that is also
an immense opportunity.
We estimate this risk/opportunity to be
worth anything up to $400 billion in
2013, and it will only be mitigated and/or
realized through a thoroughgoing digital
transformation that enhances all channels
and experiences.
Only companies that transform their
technologies as well as their underlying
business models will be equipped to deliver
the experiences that customers want and
demand. Only true digital transformation
at this strategic level will enable carriers to
let customers define their own experiences
rather than simply providing products for
them to buy.
One point of interest emerges from the
regional results of the survey. These results
show that consumers in Brazil and China
(and to a lesser extent in South Africa)
have the highest level of expectations for
the provision of value-added services by
their insurance providers as well as the
greatest interest in digital services that
may be offered online, via the Web, mobile
devices or social media. It must be borne in
mind that the research targeted connected
consumers in these markets, and therefore
these results do not represent the full
spectrum of the general population; they do,
however, clearly highlight emerging trends
in consumers’ attitudes and behaviors.
When it comes to transformation, there is
no one size that fits all. Insurers must take
a long-term strategic view that assesses
the customer landscape and the role the
company wishes to play. This role will
determine the type of customer experience
it must deliver, and so how to mix the
five elements of the customer experience
outlined above. Having done this, the
insurer must develop a detailed plan for
achieving the goal.
The future of insurance embraces digital,
and only those companies that successfully
transform their whole value chain will be
able to compete successfully and, in time,
become high-performance businesses.
To find out more about Accenture’s
Consumer-Driven Innovation Survey or how
to embark on digital transformation, please
contact one of the authors on the back
page or visit our website at
www.accenture.com/insurance.
Data from the 2013 Accenture ConsumerDriven Innovation Survey can now be
tailored according to line of business,
country and age group. This interactive data
visualization tool may be found at
www.accenture.com/CDI or by scanning the
QR code at the end of this document.
27
References
Authors
About Accenture Research
1. The size of the switching economy is
estimated as the total of personal-lines
property and casualty and life insurance
premiums written in a 12-month period
multiplied by the percentage of customers
who reported they are likely to switch
providers in “the next 12 months.” For P&C
insurance the definition of switching is
cancelling or not renewing a contract with
one provider and initiating a new contract
with another. For life insurance the definition
is cancelling or stopping contributions to
a contract with one provider and initiating
a new contract with another provider.
Investment policies held with life insurers are
excluded from the calculation.
Jean-François Gasc is the managing
director of Accenture Management
Consulting for Insurance across Europe and
Latin America. He joined Accenture in 1985
and has focused on insurance since 1995.
He is leading work at major insurance
groups in France, Belgium, the Netherlands
and Luxembourg, in the areas of life
consolidation and transformation, postmerger integration and industrialization
for property and casualty insurers, as
well as digital and customer-centric
transformation. Gasc holds a degree from
the Paris Institute of Political Studies and a
Master’s degree in Business Administration
from HEC in Paris. Contact him at
[email protected].
Accenture Research is Accenture’s global
business research team with over 180
professional researchers across 22 countries.
The team has experts in industry, technology,
financial, survey and economic research.
2. UK Private Motor Insurance, 2012:
Datamonitor.
3. Accenture 2013 Global Consumer Pulse
Research.
4. Accenture 2013 Digital Insurance Survey:
Europe, Latin America and Africa, p7,
available at http://www.accenture.com/
us-en/Pages/insight-europe-latin-americadigital-distribution-survey-2013.aspx.
5. Accenture 2013 Global Consumer Pulse
Research.
Data sources
Data for the figures is derived from
the Accenture 2013 Consumer-Driven
Innovation Survey, except Figure 1, which
is based on data from the Accenture
2013 Global Consumer Pulse Research.
Similarly, data in the text is derived from
the Accenture 2013 Consumer-Driven
Innovation Survey unless otherwise noted.
About the series
The Digital Insurer is an Accenture series
that provides insights on how insurers can
achieve high performance in the Digital
Age. Digital is not simply a new distribution
channel—it offers an entirely new way of
doing business. Leading insurers are learning
how to provide significantly easier access
to a wider range of more relevant products
and services at a lower cost. With these
goals in mind, this series presents pragmatic
and visionary discussions on analytics,
back-office digitization, marketing,
mobility, social media and more. For more
information about this series, please visit
www.accenture.com/digitalinsurer.
Copyright © 2014 Accenture
All rights reserved.
Accenture, its logo, and
High Performance Delivered
are trademarks of Accenture.
Erik Sandquist is the managing director
of Accenture’s Insurance Distribution
and Marketing Business Service in
North America. He has helped insurers
reinvent their distribution models through
strategic transformational change
programs. Sandquist holds a degree
from Cornell University. Contact him at
[email protected].
Mark Halverson is a senior executive in
Accenture’s Financial Services practice. He
is the lead for Life Insurance Distribution
Services and Wealth & Asset Management
Services. Halverson has worked with
clients in insurance, retail banking,
wealth management and brokerage,
mutual funds and asset management,
and hedge funds and prime brokerage.
He specializes in defining strategies and
business models, and driving them to
successful implementation. Halverson
holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer
Science Engineering from Southern
Methodist University, and is an alumnus of
Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate
School of Management. Contact him at
[email protected].
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management
consulting, technology services and
outsourcing company, with approximately
281,000 people serving clients in more
than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled
experience, comprehensive capabilities
across all industries and business functions,
and extensive research on the world’s
most successful companies, Accenture
collaborates with clients to help them
become high-performance businesses and
governments. The company generated net
revenues of US$28.6 billion for the fiscal
year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page is
www.accenture.com.
Scan this QR code or visit
www.accenture.com/CDI to start exploring
the Consumer-Driven Innovation Survey’s
interactive data visualization tool.
Michael Lyman is the Global Managing
Director of Accenture’s Management
Consulting for Insurance. For over thirty
years, he has advised executives and their
teams on how to transform their businesses
to drive customer-centricity and achieve
high performance. Lyman holds a Masters
in Business Administration from the
Kellogg Graduate School of Management
at Northwestern University. Contact him at
[email protected].
13-4555