Dublin, Nov. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "UK Mobile Phone & Gadget Insurance Market 2021: Consumer Research Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
This report examines the motivations, experiences and opinions of UK consumers who own mobile phone and/or gadget insurance. It identifies and analyses consumer attitudes towards mobile phone and gadget insurance, looks at the claims experience of policyholders, and investigates why they choose one route to purchase over another.
In addition, it explores how price sensitivity is impacting the market. Similar research was run in 2019 for mobile phone customers and the report compares and contrasts findings for mobile phone insurance between 2019 and 2021.
For this report, the publisher commissioned research from MIS Group's UK panel. The research was structured so that 2,002 nationally representative consumers aged 18+ were asked if they owned an insurance policy.
This generated 457 individuals who stated that they owned a mobile phone insurance policy and 215 who owned gadget insurance. Similar research in 2019 generated responses from 462 individuals who owned mobile phone insurance.
The publisher estimates that in 2021 around 12.1 million adults were covered by mobile phone insurance and 5.7 million by gadget insurance. Between 2012 and 2021, the number of people owning mobile insurance increased by 21%, with the rate of growth slowing in recent years as ownership of mobiles reaches saturation levels.
While over eight-in-ten consumers own a mobile phone and over eight-in-ten own electronic gadgets like computers, digital cameras, tablets, games consoles, e-readers and smart watches, only 24% of consumers who own a mobile for personal use own insurance and 11% of gadget owners have gadget insurance. Therefore, there is ample potential to expand the market, although past attempts have clearly not driven penetration to high levels.
Most mobile phone and gadget insurance policyholders own a standalone policy, and most policyholders pay for their cover on a monthly basis. However, just under half own insurance cover which is bundled with other financial products (mostly packaged bank accounts for mobile cover and other insurances - most likely home insurance - for gadget cover).
Other findings from the report include:
- In 2021, around four-in-ten mobile phone and gadget insurance policyholder acquired their current policy by renewing with their existing provider, with around one-in-five obtaining their policies by switching from one provider to another. In both the mobile and gadget insurance markets, around one-third of policyholders acquired their latest policy by embarking on their first ever customer journey, i.e., they were first time buyers.
- Between 2019 and 2021 there has been a significant drop in the percentage of mobile phone insurance policyholder making an insurance claim, a drop which is likely to be related to COVID-19 lockdowns. In both the mobile phone insurance and the gadget insurance markets, a large majority of claimants were satisfied with the outcome of their last insurance claim.
- Both mobile phone insurance and gadget insurance policyholders put much more emphasis on price rather than cover when they select their insurance. However, the final price paid, and the level of cover achieved by policyholders is often the outcome of policyholder/insurance provider negotiation: most cover holders negotiate with their provider before buying a policy.
- When taking out mobile phone and/or gadget insurance cover, only a minority of policyholders would sacrifice cover or price in order to buy from a high profile brand.
- When looking for insurance deals at the start of a customer journey, price comparison websites (PCWs) are by far the most popular resource for both mobile phone and gadget insurance policyholders. PCWs have also become of more importance recently as channels for insurance sales.
Key Topics Covered:
1. Executive Summary
- A market with growth potential
- Policyholders are relatively loyal, but the customer merry-go-round still spins
- Policyholders like to discover deals online, mainly via PCWs
- Mobile phone and gadget insurance policyholders are price focused
- Brands are important if the buyer is uncertain
- Most policyholders have a good experience
- One-in-ten have claimed in the past year
- The claims process seems to run smoothly for most
- Over 12 million own mobile phone insurance
2. Introduction
3. Profile Of Policyholders
- One-quarter of consumers have mobile insurance
- Smartphones dominate the market
- Young affluent consumers the most likely to be insured
- Consumers prefer standalone insurance, paid for monthly
- Younger consumers are the most likely to opt for bundled cover
- Mobile phone and gadget owners like to minimise their risks
4. The Customer Journey Begins
- Most policyholders have been on a customer journey before
- The renewal prompt helps kick start the customer journey
- Renewing is a strong sign of loyalty
- Older cover holders the most likely to renew their insurance
- Policyholders who switch continue to be on the lookout for cheaper deals
- Many of those renewing only do so after starting on a new journey
- Over half of those renewing without searching still try and get a better deal
5. Buying a Policy: Finding the Right Deal
- Price Comparison Websites are the primary research resource
- PCWs will lead next year's policy search
- PCWs lead the research but buying direct is the norm
6. Policy Acquisition: Price Negotiation
- By their nature, policyholders are price sensitive
- Brands are important if the buyer is uncertain
- The final price/cover offer is the result of a negotiated settlement
- Negotiations likely to centre on broad policy features
- Insurers need to deliver policyholder information in a concise manner
7. Being a Policyholder
- Getting mobile and gadget cover is easy and satisfying
- Most policyholders now use online portals to manage their policies
- Around one-in-ten policyholders have claimed in the past year
- Claiming is a satisfying and smooth process
8. Market Size and Trends
- Mobile phones, a near ubiquitous technology
- Over 12 million own mobile phone insurance
- A diverse market in terms of brands
Companies Mentioned
- American International Group UK Limited
- AmTrust Europe Limited
- Assurant General Insurance Limited
- Astrenska Insurance Limited
- Aviva Insurance Ltd
- Axa (Inter Partner Assistance SA)
- Better Buy Insurance (Square Pound Limited)
- Buymobilephoneinsurance.com (Buymobilephone-Ins Ltd)
- Captain Cover (Lexelle Ltd)
- Chubb European Group SE
- CoverCloud (Acumen Insurance Services Ltd)
- CUSC Foneguard (Pier Insurance Managed Services Limited)
- EE Insurance (BT Group)
- Gadget Cover (Insurance Factory Ltd - Markerstudy)
- Gadgetbuddy.com (ROCK Insurance Services Limited)
- Great Lakes Insurance
- Helpucover (Cardif Pinnacle Insurance Management Services plc)
- Helvetic Swiss Insurance Co
- i-Digital (i-Partners Insurance Management Limited)
- insurance2go (Loyal Insurance Services Ltd)
- Leisure Guard (Business Brokers Limited)
- Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe Limited
- Loveit Coverit (Pier Insurance Managed Services Limited)
- Mobile Phone Insurance Direct (Pier Insurance Managed Services Limited)
- Multigadget.Insure (Elliott Slowther Insurance Services Limited t/as A19 Insurance)
- Novus Underwriting Limited (Helvetic Swiss Insurance Co)
- O2 Insurance (Telefonica UK Limited)
- Protect Your Bubble (Assurant Direct Limited)
- Row.co.uk (BIG Warranties Ltd)
- simple insurance (simplesurance GmbH)
- so-sure (appointed representative of Shepherd Compello Ltd)
- Starr International (Europe) Limited
- Switched On Insurance (Taurus Insurance Services Limited)
- TeamKnowHow Insurance (The Carphone Warehouse Limited)
- Telefonica Insurance S.A
- Tesco Mobile
- Three (Hutchison 3G UK Ltd)
- Tinhat (Bastion Insurance Services Ltd)
- Trusted Insurances (Taurus Insurance Services Limited)
- UK General Insurance Ltd (Great Lakes Insurance SE)
- Virgin Media
- Vodafone
- Watford Insurance Company Europe Limited
- WDP Insurance Limited
- White Horse Insurance Ireland Ltd.
- Zenith Insurance Plc (Markerstudy Group)
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/q8tt7q
