What drove auto insurance shopping trends in Q1 2022
While the price of premiums isn’t the only reason someone may decide to look for a new insurance carrier, it is the most prevalent across all generations, according to J.D. Power.
Young drivers are shopping for policies at a higher rate than older generations, says the Q1 2022 Shopping LIST Report from J.D. Power. As shopping for insurance has naturally declined amongst older generations, Millennials now representing the largest percentage of shoppers (35%). Not everyone is checking out new carriers for the same reasons, however, and while the LIST Report shows rates are the leading reason for shopping, usage-based insurance (UBI) and the purchase of new vehicles are also driving these trends.
The younger the generation, the more UBI options matter to consumers, says J.D. Power’s report. While only 2.6% of Boomers and 3.6% of Gen X cited UBI as a reason for carrier shopping, Millennials cited it as their reason 5.5% of the time and 7.5% of those in Gen Z said the same.
Gen Z also leads the crowd when it comes to shopping for insurance carriers as the result of purchasing a new vehicle. Drivers in that generation (born between 1995 and 2004) are at the age where they are beginning to make large purchases for themselves, and many may be shopping for insurance carriers for the first time.
When it comes to how many in these two generations are shopping overall, 14.3% of Gen Z customers and 14% of Millennials told J.D. Power they shopped for a new insurance policy in March 2022. Of those who shopped during that month, 6.3% of Gen Z customers and 4.9% of Millennials reported actually switching carriers.
If you’d like to see the full results of J.D. Power’s Quarterly Shopping LIST Report for 2022 Q1, you can download a copy here.