Millennials searching for insurance advice aren’t stopping at a Google search, but are looking to friends and family for help – but are brokers still in the picture?
Understanding how millennials make decisions is half the battle for brokers looking to tap into this very large, and lucrative, segment of the population, says Louis Regimbal an advisory partner with KPMG.
“The youngest generation is very interested in what their peers have to say, and that is cultural for that generation,” Regimbal told a gathering of insurance executives recently in Toronto, Ont. “If we understand that, we can harness it in order to make sure our message comes across properly.”
And while a larger percentage of Canadians are willing to look on the Internet for sources of information, very few of them consider it to be the valuable source of information.
“It is part of the mix, but by no means is it sufficient on its own,” he says.
Drawing from data gathered in a recent KPMG survey, Regimbal noted that it is interesting that in Canada only 12% of the population is willing to buy a car online, as opposed to the U.S. where it is 21% – and that probably it has to do something with supply.
“There is a truism in the individual space that supply shapes demand,” says Regimbal. “The people who are buying online, what are they looking for? They are looking for convenience, simplicity and lower overhead.”
While the shift to shopping online has raised fears among life insurance professionals that their jobs may be going the way of the dodo, Regimbal is confident that their services and expertise will remain a critical component of the process.
“The idea that with the Internet, we’re shoving the intermediary aside – that hasn’t come to pass,” he says. “When you look at younger generations, their expectations are that they need that expert help.”
“The youngest generation is very interested in what their peers have to say, and that is cultural for that generation,” Regimbal told a gathering of insurance executives recently in Toronto, Ont. “If we understand that, we can harness it in order to make sure our message comes across properly.”
And while a larger percentage of Canadians are willing to look on the Internet for sources of information, very few of them consider it to be the valuable source of information.
“It is part of the mix, but by no means is it sufficient on its own,” he says.
Drawing from data gathered in a recent KPMG survey, Regimbal noted that it is interesting that in Canada only 12% of the population is willing to buy a car online, as opposed to the U.S. where it is 21% – and that probably it has to do something with supply.
“There is a truism in the individual space that supply shapes demand,” says Regimbal. “The people who are buying online, what are they looking for? They are looking for convenience, simplicity and lower overhead.”
While the shift to shopping online has raised fears among life insurance professionals that their jobs may be going the way of the dodo, Regimbal is confident that their services and expertise will remain a critical component of the process.
“The idea that with the Internet, we’re shoving the intermediary aside – that hasn’t come to pass,” he says. “When you look at younger generations, their expectations are that they need that expert help.”
