Internet Insurance, Risk Purchases Will Increase Significantly
While U.S. corporations make minimal use of the Internet today for commercial insurance or risk management needs, a significant increase is expected over the course of the next 24 months, according to a survey by the Association for Financial Professionals.
Of the individuals participating in the survey, only 12 percent or fewer use the Internet to buy business insurance or risk management products. However, nearly half of the survey respondents will use the Internet to buy primary property/casualty insurance in the next 12 months, and 64 percent plan to do so over the next two years.
For excess liability coverage, 45 percent say they would use the Internet a year from now, increasing to 59 percent in two years. 24 percent predicted use of the Internet for reinsurance in one year and 38 percent in two years; and 43 percent will go online for alternative risk products in one year and 52 percent in two years.
Respondents ranked the largest barriers to buying and managing commercial property and casualty insurance online as their broker relationship, security of the information and administration concerns.
The mid-March survey was administered to corporate financial professionals who previously identified themselves as having job responsibilities in either risk management or insurance risk management. The 91 responses were received from professionals in manufacturing, retail, communications/media and other industries.