Dublin, Sept. 09, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "UK Mobile Phone Insurance Market 2019: Consumer Research Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report examines the motivations, experiences and opinions of the UK mobile phone insurance customer. It will identify and analyse consumer attitudes towards mobile phone insurance, look at the claims experience of policyholders, and investigate why they choose one route to purchase over another. In addition, it will explore how price sensitivity is impacting the market.

Essentially, the report studies the policyholder's customer journey from the point where they recognise a requirement to make a purchase, to the point when they are a customer and may run into issues like claiming and eventually may decide to switch to another provider.

Some of the key findings from this report are:

• 24% of mobile phone owners are covered by mobile phone insurance
• 51% of insured mobile owners are covered by a standalone policy
• 11% of policyholders were FTBs, who have never owned mobile insurance before, with 89% being policyholders who are repeat customer journey takers
• 7% of all policyholders switched provider in the past 12 months, while 83% renewed with an existing provider
• 18% of cover holders have claimed in the past year

Around eight-in-ten consumers own a mobile phone used for personal purposes and around one-quarter of mobile owners are covered by mobile phone insurance. This means that just over 10 million adults are covered by a mobile phone insurance policy.

Around half of insured mobile owners own a separate/standalone policy, with just under one half saying their cover is bundled into another financial product, mainly a packaged bank account. This means just over 5 million consumers are covered by standalone policies.

Around one-in-ten policyholders are new to the market each year, i.e. they are First Time Buyers (FTBs) who have never owned mobile insurance before. This means around nine-in-ten policyholders are not new to the market, so their decision is to either renew with their current provider or switch provider at the start of their annual customer journey.

The vast majority of the repeat journey takers ultimately decide to renew their insurance with their existing providers: in the past year, less than one-in-ten of all policyholders switched provider. Because policyholders have renewed with an existing provider, this does not mean they have all passively accepted a renewal offer. Renewing involves many of the same actions as a Switcher would undertake but with a different final outcome (staying rather than leaving). A clear majority of those renewing either search for alternative deals and/or engage with their incumbent provider to try and negotiate a better deal.

Mobile phone holders with insurance focus their deal finding on price comparison websites (PCWs) and online resources in general. PCWs are used so heavily for policy deal research because they offer information on the insurance products mobile owners are interested in, and in an easy to use format.

However, while over six-in-ten mobile owners have consulted a PCW over the past two years, when they were asked where they purchased their last policy from, less than one-in-five said they purchased by going through a PCW. Of more significance was going direct to the provider, using a bank or building society and buying through a mobile network provider.

The importance of banks and building societies as a purchasing channel stems primarily from policyholders who acquired their cover via packaged bank accounts. Among policyholders who did not get their cover from a packaged account, three purchase channels are important: direct to provider, PCWs and the phone trade (primarily network operators).

Key Topics Covered

1. Executive Summary

• Over 10 million covered by mobile insurance
• And only around half are covered by standalone policies
• Most policyholders are risk averse and somewhat lacking in confidence when buying insurance
• Insured mobile owners show a bias towards an online customer journey
• For nine-in-ten policyholders, the customer journey is a repeat process
• When searching for mobile deals, the focus is on price comparison websites
• But when buying the focus is elsewhere
• Cover is marginally more important than price
• Owning mobile phone insurance is a good experience
• If the price is not right, the customer relationship ends

2. Introduction

3. Profile of the Insured Mobile Owner

• Key findings
• Eight-in-ten adults own a mobile for personal use but only around one-quarter are insured
• Meaning only around one-quarter of mobile owners are insured
• Insured mobile owners tend to be younger and more affluent than uninsured mobile owners
• Almost half of insured mobile owners have bundled cover
• Younger consumers are the most likely to opt for bundled cover.
• Insured mobile owners prefer to pay annually
• Cross selling Opportunities

4. How Mobile Owners Approach Insurance

• Key findings
• Risk aversion and value perceptions
• Confidence and self-reliance
• A predisposition toward an online customer journey

5. The Customer Journey Begins

• Key findings
• Over nine-in-ten policyholders have made multiple previous journeys
• Half of policyholders have been with their current provider for less than two years
• 18% of policyholders switched to get their current policy but only 7% switched this year
• Age strongly influences acquisition
• Renewers and Switchers often act in similar ways
• And both Switchers and Renewers are spurred into action by the renewal prompt
• When they decide to look for deals, the Price Comparison Website is the first port of call
• The range of information resources consulted expands with experience
• And PCWs will be the go-to info resource on the next customer journey
• Because they offer easy access to the information required
• PCWs are an informational rather than a purchasing channel

6. Price, Cover or Brand

• Key findings
• Two main alternative buying strategies
• Younger policyholders focus more on price
• Attitudes rather than demographics influence brand sensitivities
• Most policyholders want a good deal
• Mobile insurance policyholders need better information

7. Being a Policyholder

• Key findings
• Getting mobile cover is easy and satisfying
• Most policyholders now use online portals to manage their policies
• Almost one-in-five policyholders have claimed in the past year
• Claiming is a satisfying and smooth process

8. Ending the Journey: Customer Loyalty & Switching

• Key findings
• 7% switch each year
• Switching is price led
• Almost one-quarter are thinking of switching in the next year

9. Market Size & Trends

• Key findings
• Mobile phones, a near ubiquitous technology
• Around 50 million adults have access to a mobile phone
• Increasing numbers of adults can't be without their phones
• Over 10 million own mobile phone insurance
• A diverse market in terms of brands

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/36xl9x

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

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