As the largest generation in North America, Millennials are an important demographic for insurance carriers. Not only because this is a group with significant purchasing power, but also because their expectations around customer service and customer experience are changing the way many carriers operate.  

Millennial policyholders expect exemplary customer experiences, and want digital ways to interact and pay bills. Many digital native insurance carriers are taking advantage of this, making it easier than ever to select and purchase a policy directly from your mobile device. For carriers that have been slower to innovate, gaining and retaining customers in this age group is becoming a challenge. It’s important for insurance carriers to realize, though, that technology can be an opportunity rather than a threat. Technology lets organizations personalize policyholder experiences, improve engagement levels, and elevate the customer experience. 

To help insurance organizations better understand how to leverage Millennial policyholder preferences to their advantage, Invoice Cloud recently conducted an online survey asking this age group questions about the types of policies they own, how they prefer to make payments, and more. You can download the full report here, but here are three major takeaways from our research. 

1. The needs of Millennial policyholders are evolving 

In 2019, Millennials surpassed the Baby Boomer generation as the largest living adult generation. This means Millennials now make up a major percentage of consumers, spending trillions of dollars a year in goods and services – and insurance is no exception.  

According to the survey results, the most common policy among Millennials is personal auto insurance (78%), followed by health insurance (76%).  

Looking ahead, the buying power of Millennials in the insurance market only becomes more formidable. In total, 85% of survey respondents anticipate buying at least one new policy in the next 5 years. This means that the money spent on insurance by this already influential demographic will inevitably increase, and rapidly.  

The Millennial generation spans individuals in their mid-20s to late 30s (with the eldest in this group turning 40 in 2021). This represents a sizeable range when it comes to consumer needs and life experiences. On the one hand, some Millennials are starting at their first jobs, striking out in the renter’s market, and are no longer covered by their family’s insurance plans. On the other side of the age bracket, older Millennials are buying property, starting families, and purchasing more policies as their insurance needs grow.  

As the data shows, the gap between single Millennials (whose insurance policies only cover themselves) and Millennials who are starting families (whose insurance policies cover their partners and dependents) is gradually closing. 

What this means for your organization: It’s clear that Millennials are increasingly making up a large proportion of policyholders. They represent a group with a vast array of policy needs, and many are going through transitional phases of life: moving from renter’s to homeowner’s insurance, or upgrading policies from covering an individual to covering a family. It’s for these reasons that carriers have to take Millennial purchasing, payment and interaction preferences into consideration when deciding how to leverage technology and improve the overall customer experience.  

2. Millennials will switch carriers for a better experience, and have a history of doing so 

When it comes to insurer loyalty, the survey results show that Millennials will not hesitate to switch carriers if their current insurer isn’t providing a satisfactory customer experience. Forty-one percent of the Millennial policyholders surveyed have switched insurance carriers within the last six to 12 months.

To better understand why  76% of these Millennial policyholders have switched carriers in the last five years alone, we asked respondents to pinpoint why they decided to leave their former insurance provider.  

While 48% of respondents cited that price was a primary driver for switching carriers, what’s more informative for insurers are the  22% of Millennial respondents that switched carriers for better customer experiences or expanded digital offerings and payment methods.  

What this means for your organization: Competitive pricing will always exist in the insurance space and no carrier can accommodate the changing needs of every insured – it’s much more attainable for your organization to improve the policyholder experience and expand digital payment options. Try auditing your policyholder experience and payment offerings, taking time to evaluate what it’s like to pay premiums with your organization. This will give your organization the opportunity to address these issues and avoid spikes in customer churn.  

3. Digital experiences impact the purchase decision 

When asked how they purchased their latest insurance policy, 41% of Millennial respondents said they bought the policy on their mobile device, directly from the insurer.  

Purchasing policies and paying premiums aren’t where mobile preferences stop, either. When asked about their communication preferences, 64% of respondents would rather communicate with an insurance carrier through a digital or mobile channel. 

Even payment method preferences are evolving as Millennials take up more of the insurance space. While credit cards and ACH are still common methods for making premium payments, 25% of Millennials who said online or mobile payment options were “very” or “somewhat important” would rather pay their premiums via PayPal/Venmo or Apple Pay/Google Pay. This is another huge shift that’s unique to this rising demographic.  

What this means for your organization: Insurance organizations can no longer afford to ignore mobile payment channels and methods. To cater to the new consumer mindset, insurers must provide mobile channels for purchasing policies, communicating with insurers, paying premiums, and more. They must also ensure that these mobile channels are fully optimized by offering digital wallet options, pay by text functionality, and a well-designed mobile interface for an outstanding user experience.  

Start leveraging this data today 

Clearly, Millennial policyholders are an important market for every insurance organization, particularly as the needs of this generation continue to grow and evolve.

To learn more about important Millennial insurance preferences including how they choose insurance carriers, payment preferences and the most important factor when it comes to a great customer experience, download the full report Keeping up with Millennial Policyholders, below.