Kiwis prefer to find out about insurance products online but tend to buy them offline through an adviser or at a bank branch, according to the latest research commissioned by the Financial Services Council.
The report ‘Moments of Truth – Key Insights into the New Zealand Life Insurance Industry’ explored the ways that Kiwis find out about and purchase insurance.
The findings show that searching on the internet is the most common method, listing the following information sources people used when looking into buying a risk policy in the last two years:
- 46% used an internet search
- 25% looked at insurance company website(s)
- 21% talked with financial adviser or insurance broker in person
- 25% talked to a friend or relative
- 25% talked to an insurance company in person
W
hen it came to how Kiwis purchased personal risk policies in the last five years, the two leading ways included:
- 22% of respondents arranging the purchase through a financial adviser or an insurance agent
- 20% of respondents arranging the purchase in person at a bank branch
Purchases made online included:
- 15% percent online directly from an insurance company
- 9% online from a bank
The research also found that those respondents who used a broker trusted their broker’s expertise as they were chosen after recommendation through word-of-mouth and often quite a stringent selection process. The client perceived their broker as doing the hard work of identifying the best policy and managing issues and queries.