It’s advice relevant not just to the men of Ancient Greece, but to the insurance industry of today. Because Amazon, not content with world-retail domination, is moving into the home insurance space.  

The Amazon Insurance Store launched six weeks ago, with Ageas, Co-op and LV= products – wrapped together with a unique promise for a minimum standard of cover, streamlined journey and shopping experience that starts and ends with the Amazon Insurance Store.   
 
So far the news has been met with a certain amount of scepticism in the industry, not least because rivals Google have tried and failed before them to challenge the four big price comparison sites.  

But trying to predict consumer behaviour is a complicated business – and no business should underestimate the Great British Public’s instinct for ease, habit, or a bit of a bargain.  
 
Results from our latest Viewsbank survey show that consumers are in fact extremely receptive to the idea of Amazon insurance. Three quarters of people would definitely or maybe consider buying or comparing insurance via Amazon instead of using a Price Comparison Site (PCW), with only 23% dismissing the idea.  

Digram one for AmazonViewsbank poll conducted 25-27 November 2022. 846 adults in the UK who buy home insurance.
 
Amazon’s ubiquity and reputation clearly had a lot to do with the response. Some 95% of people in our survey were Amazon customers, 60% were Prime Members, and a quarter admitting to buying from the site weekly – with another third buying something at least monthly. One-in-ten had already bought insurance through the site - in the form of product warrantees or damage cover. 

People rated Amazon highly for its retail services, and had levels of trust in the brand that the insurance industry can only dream of: 
 
Digram 2 Amazon
Viewsbank poll conducted 25-27 November 2022. 1,021 adults in the UK who have shopped with Amazon

Digram 3 Amazon
Viewsbank poll conducted 25-27 November 2022. 1,078 adults in the UK 
 
For those who said they would or would maybe consider buying insurance from Amazon, 40% said they’d do so because they trusted the brand, 44% felt they were big enough to know what they were doing, and 45% said they like the fact they were familiar. A quarter felt using Amazon would be easy, and a fifth felt they would offer good value. 

Digram 5 Am

Viewsbank poll conducted 25-27 November 2022. 846 adults in the UK who buy home insurance

Of the 23% of dissenters who wouldn’t use Amazon for insurance, 62% would rather go to an established brand, and 53% felt they weren’t insurance experts. 

But when asked if they’d buy an established brand via Amazon, 82% felt they would now say yes or maybe to buying from the platform. 53% of people also really liked the idea of a minimum cover level as something that would help them know they’d got adequate cover, whereas only 33% wanted the freedom and all the options to make their own home insurance decisions. 

The idea of a minimum cover level appealed more to Amazon Prime customers. 

Digram 6 AmazonViewsbank poll conducted 25-27 November 2022. 846 adults in the UK who buy home insurance

All that harnessed brand power means Amazon might actually be mounting a real and credible challenge which providers – and PCWs – should sit up and take notice of. Not least because with Amazon the sky really is the limit… 

While there’s currently no suggestion of it, our survey found that three quarters of people would definitely or maybe consider buying an Amazon ‘own brand’ insurance product, with Prime customers once again more open to the idea. And more than half (54%) would be happy for Amazon to use their personal information and shopping habits to adjust insurance premiums or deliver promotions, rising to 65% of Prime customers. 

Digram 7 AmazonViewsbank poll conducted 25-27 November 2022. 846 adults in the UK who buy home insurance

Imagine being able to automatically serve pet insurance options to people buying puppy supplies, or home emergency to people buying bathroom fittings, or figuring out people watching violent movies are higher-risk of dangerous driving/accidents – or that those buying family films are more likely to lock their windows at night. The possibilities are endless, and rest assured, Jeff Bezos and the brains behind Amazon have already thought of them…

Whether the retail giant does go on to change the whole insurance world may all hinge on the first few months of real customer service – and as an industry we should all be watching, waiting, and planning our own next moves. 


Understand the needs and motivations of your customers

Viewsbank is our in-house consumer research panel. It’s a large, responsive and community driven panel that conducts both quantitative and qualitative research.

Our Viewsbank panel helps our customers with a wide variety of projects ranging from detailed mystery shopping to demographically targeted research surveys. The research helps our clients make informed decisions based on true understanding of the consumer’s voice.

Click here to learn more


 

Comment on blog post . . . 

Submit a comment

You may also like

Behind the rise and rise of Policy Expert
Behind the rise and rise of Policy Expert
23 September, 2021

The rise of Policy Expert has been a persistent theme in our home insurance momentum reports. Launched in 2011, the prov...

Nearly half of pet owners worry about being able to afford their pet
Nearly half of pet owners worry about being able to afford their pet
21 April, 2023

Forget 9 out of 10 cats, nearly 9 out of 10 owners of cats and/or dogs think having a pet is getting more expensive - an...