United Kingdom (UK) Personal Lines Insurance Distribution and Marketing 2021

This report examines consumer channel preferences and how these have changed over time. It explores the drivers behind customers choosing one channel over another. The report highlights the market shares of the largest players by product line and channel. It also looks at the marketing and advertising spends of some of the largest players in the industry, including PCWs. Additionally, the report forecasts the future of personal lines distribution to 2025, discussing some of the key factors behind its evolution.

The direct channel remains the most frequently used channel for consumers when it comes to purchasing insurance. The channel fell slightly in its share of distribution in 2020, as increasing financial constraints induced by the pandemic have driven consumers to use brokers and price comparison websites (PCWs) slightly more frequently in search of better deals. Consumers are more likely to purchase insurance online, with many insurers and distributors increasing their online and digital capabilities in response to changing consumer habits driven by the pandemic. Many consumers indicated that they opted to purchase insurance through a PCW because they had used it before. This suggests that PCWs are very good at finding optimum deals for consumers.

Scope

• During 2020, consumers increasingly turned to brokers and PCWs in search of better deals and prices for general insurance products. Despite this, the direct channel remains the most commonly used channel for purchasing insurance, although its share of distribution fell by two percentage points (pp) in 2020
• The proportion of consumers who purchased insurance through a PCW increased by 2.8pp to 29.8% in 2021, according to our 2021 UK Insurance Consumer Survey
• Advertising spend increased slightly in 2021, growing by 3.1% to GBP177.7 million. PCWs have driven this increase, but overall spend is still below previous levels

Reasons to Buy

• Understand how consumers purchase motor, home, travel, and pet insurance across all channels:direct, broker, bank, affinity, and PCWs:and how this is likely to change in the near future
• Discover the most selected providers by product line and learn how the popularity of each channel has changed in recent years
• Improve the customer journey and brand loyalty by understanding what influences purchasing decisions and how to meet customer needs
• Observe which insurance providers and PCWs have the largest spend in advertising and understand which insurance product attracts the largest spend
• Learn how key players and upcomers are adapting their propositions for changing consumer preferences