Auto insurance shoppers continue to switch carriers, report finds

Auto insurance shoppers continue to switch carriers, report finds | Insurance Business America

Motor & Fleet

Auto insurance shoppers continue to switch carriers, report finds

New policy acquisitions have experienced a “sizzling” hike

Motor & Fleet

By
Terry Gangcuangco

LexisNexis has released its Insurance Demand Meter report, sharing the company’s analysis of the auto insurance shopping trends in the US in the first quarter.

According to the quarterly findings, consumer auto insurance shopping activity was marked as “hot” on the LexisNexis Insurance Demand Meter, with a 2.9% year-over-year increase in shopping for Q1 2024. This represents a slight deceleration from the previous quarter’s 4.7% year-over-year growth.

New policy acquisitions, meanwhile, experienced a “sizzling” hike, rising by 8.7% in Q1 2024, up from the 7% jump observed in the prior quarter. This marks the seventh consecutive quarter and the 20th straight month of increasing new policy growth, indicating a continuing trend of consumers switching carriers more frequently.

Despite March showing a marginally lower shopping growth rate compared to the previous year – potentially due to fewer workdays and more weekends than in 2023 – 42% of insured households shopped for auto insurance in the last 12 months.

Since 2021, the segment of consumers most likely to remain with their current insurer (those loyal for more than 10 years) has grown. This group made up less than 20% of shoppers initially but has now expanded to 24% of the total shopper pool through Q1 2024.

The market also saw an influx of new drivers in the quarter, balancing out the number of those exiting. This is a notable change from 2022 and 2023, when a significant number of consumers left the market due to rising premiums.

Adam Pichon (pictured), senior vice president for global analytics at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, noted: “As we have seen more shopping in recent months from consumers who have traditionally been longer-tenured and more loyal, insurers with an appetite for growth may still have an opportunity to capitalize as these consumers seek to lower their premiums.

“Insurers may also want to consider implementing stronger retention strategies as they seek to return to rate adequacy and profitability, including more proactive and selective monitoring of their renewal books to help identity and retain those loyal policyholders.”

Based on billions of consumer shopping transactions since 2009, the LexisNexis Insurance Demand Meter is a quarterly analysis of shopping volume and frequency, as well as new business volume and related data points, aimed at offering a market-wide perspective of consumer shopping and switching behavior.

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