Australian car insurance customers like to shop around
Rising premiums lead people to consider switching.
The rising cost of health insurance has been dominating the headlines, but rising car insurance premiums are also sending people scrambling.
According to new research from Roy Morgan, more Australians than ever are looking to switch insurance companies in order to find a better deal on comprehensive cover.
In 2017, more than 21% of people with comprehensive cover approached another company about switching. Only 6% actually switched, but with so many people teetering on the edge, this could be a wake-up call to auto insurers.
“Although only a relatively small proportion of policyholders actually switch companies, the magnitude of those that are considering to do so represents a great opportunity or risk if they are not understood,” Roy Morgan industry communications director Norman Morris said in a statement.
In fact, a finder.com.au survey showed that when people are faced with mounting insurance costs, comprehensive car insurance is the first to go.
Insurance prices as a whole have been increasing dramatically over the past decade, and it even prompted a 2017 Senate inquiry on the matter. But according to the Insurance Council of Australia, the increase in car insurance premiums has been relatively modest compared to home insurance or health insurance premiums. They haven’t even kept up with the growth in wages.
That suggests price isn't the only factor driving people to shop around.
“It is worth it for insurance companies to not only understanding their relative competitiveness in terms of premiums but also to consider other measures, including overall satisfaction, claims satisfaction, share of insurance products and the extent to which policyholders look around,” Morris said.
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