Consumers split on buying policies from non-insurance companies
A recent survey from Breeze revealed a majority are willing to purchase insurance from auto manufacturers, but are more hesitant about companies like Facebook.
Advances in insurtech are quickly pushing the industry toward data and technology- driven efficiency, and non-insurance companies have already started to dip their toes into the insurance space. But would consumers be willing to purchase renters insurance from Zillow or get their auto policy from Tesla?
Breeze recently surveyed 1,500 adult consumers to find out whether they would be willing to purchase insurance from traditionally non-insurance companies, and which companies they would trust most for this type of purchase.
According to Breeze, 55% of respondents said they would, hypothetically, purchase an insurance product from Amazon rather than a traditional carrier, with 46% saying they would purchase from Google and just 38% willing to buy insurance from Facebook.
The survey report hypothesizes that consumer confidence in Amazon may be higher because they’ve previously dabbled in health insurance. In 2018, Amazon teamed up with JPMorgan and Berkshire Hathaway in an attempt to combat rising healthcare costs in the U.S. and connect employees with primary care teams, and together they created Haven, which disbanded in February 2021. Amazon followed this failed attempt in the healthcare sphere with the establishment of still-active AmazonCare in early 2021, which is a virtual primary and urgent care system for their employees and their families.
The unwillingness for most consumers to purchase insurance through Facebook (now Meta), the report theorizes, might be due to trust issues from the plethora of scandals that have plagued the company over the years.
Breeze reports 66% of respondents said they would consider purchasing auto insurance from an automobile manufacturer, like Tesla or Ford, and 61% would be interested in acquiring renters or homeowners insurance from a real estate company like Zillow or Trulia.
Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed would be interested in purchasing health or life insurance from a wellness company or pharmacy, like CVS or Walgreens, and 51% said they would consider using a payroll or HR company like Zenefits or Bill.com to buy disability insurance.
According to the survey data, consumers are more comfortable with the idea of buying auto insurance from a carmaker than any of the other types of businesses mentioned in the survey. These types of products already exist in some capacity. Tesla launched their first auto insurance product in California in 2019 before launching similar products in Texas and Illinois. These auto products are currently only available for Tesla vehicles, and the company utilizes telematics technology to monitor the driving habits of their customers.
When it comes to health insurance, Breeze reports, Walgreens and CVS both may be on the verge of launching these types of products. CVS completed a merger with Aetna in 2018, and it was reported in September 2021 that Walgreens is considering the purchase of healthcare company Evolent Health.
You can view the survey report in its entirety on Breeze’s blog at meetbreeze.com.