Swiss trust insurance companies more than Google or Facebook
Two-thirds of the Swiss would provide their insurance companies with data about their personal behavior if they could enjoy lower premiums in return. On the other hand, insurers are still lagging behind in digitalization.
More and more people are willing to provide Swiss insurance companies with specific, personalized behavioral data if it means they can benefit as a customer from more favorable rates. For example, 66 percent of the Swiss believe that they would give their car insurance company access to their personal driving data if it meant that responsible driving would be financially rewarded. And a clear 85 percent of those surveyed believe that they trust insurance companies more than Google or Facebook to handle this personal data responsibly.
These are the key findings of a survey conducted by the global brand consultancy Prophet on the topic of "How important is transparency about your insurance contracts to you?", for which 250 adults in Switzerland were questioned in February of this year.
Insurers struggle with digitalisation
Insurers, however, are still having a hard time with the digital transformation. In the opinion of many customers, insurance companies have so far failed to consistently implement the digitalization of the insurance business. 73 percent of respondents complain about the poor quality of insurers' online presences. Consumers therefore prefer to obtain information about rates and prices in the industry on comparison portals. 55 percent of the Swiss also complain that they do not have an adequate overview of their personal insurance cover.
A lot of trust in insurance
In addition to the technical aspects, it is also about a profound organizational and cultural transformation of the industry. "Those who want to survive in the future competitive environment must use the advancing digitalization in customer interaction, process integration and product offering to create a modern, consistent customer experience," is how new Prophet partner Wolfgang Jacob assesses the results of the survey. Jacob, who will in future head the "Financial Services" division for Prophet in Switzerland and Germany, previously held leading positions at Credit Suisse, Commerzbank and the Gerling Group (now HDI).
Successful insurers would take advantage of the fact that people trust them much more than Google or Facebook when it comes to data security, says insurance expert Jacob: "Young people in particular are used to having their data recorded all the time". The technical and legal possibilities for personalized rates are mostly there, he says. "The only thing that remains to be seen is which company will be the first to network the elements in a truly intelligent and customer-oriented way in order to generate a competitive advantage," says Jacob.
