Insight Report: The Rise of Online Aggregators

The emergence of online aggregators has revolutionized the distribution of insurance products and services. Distribution in the insurance industry has become increasingly diverse, with online aggregators, direct online sales, agencies, brokers, auction sites and mobile-based distribution. Online aggregators have enabled consumers to access multiple quotes from different insurance service providers, and their presence is spreading across the world, bringing fundamental changes to the insurance industry. This trend is likely to continue until 2020.

Online aggregators have become a growing phenomenon in the global insurance industry. Online aggregators first emerged as a marketing channel for insurance products and services in the UK insurance industry in 2002 with the launch of confused.com. After just a decade, online aggregators now account for 60% of new motor insurance policies and 50% of personal insurance lines. The growth trend is similar in other European markets such as Germany, France, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands. Although online aggregators are highly successful in the UK and other key European economies, they are yet to achieve similar success in other parts of the world. The American and Asia-Pacific regions provide growth opportunities for online aggregators over the next five to 10 years, and online aggregators have already established footholds in key markets such as the US, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and India.

The rise of online aggregators has radically changed how personal insurance lines are marketed. Instead of aiding the sale of insurance products and services, online aggregators have now become a key competitor for insurers, and have led to price-based competition and falling profitability. Large insurers with well-established brands are the biggest losers in the online aggregator-dominated market, whereas smaller insurers are the biggest beneficiaries. Brand dilution, and falling rates of customer retention, market share and profitability are key challenges faced by leading insurers due to the emergence of online aggregators. Smaller insurers, low-cost providers and new entrants have benefitted from rising price-based competition and access to a wider customer base.

The addition of a new distribution channel for personal lines of insurance is also a direct threat to insurance brokers. Motor and home insurance in many European markets, including the UK, Germany, France and Italy, have transformed from a decades-old broker-led market to an online aggregator-led market in less than a decade. A similar trend is also expected in other key world economies in the next five to 10 years.

More than half the world's population is expected to have internet access and own smart mobile devices by 2018, and this trend is significantly changing consumer buying behavior. The ever-growing use of social media is also making customers more internet-aware, and consumers are using multiple channels to purchase insurance products, with growing numbers using online channels to make purchase decisions. Online aggregators are particularly attractive to these consumers and their changing buying behaviors. Convenience, ease of use, access to the best deals, and one-stop shopping are key factors that attract consumers to online aggregators.

Online aggregators are an easy ga

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