Sixty-four percent of consumers across generations have previously worked with an insurance agent and an even higher number plan to utilize them in the future, according to a recent survey from digital insurance network Agentero. Despite Gen Z’s willingness to utilize these professionals, Agentero found these younger customers likely don’t fully trust their insurance agents.
According to Agentero, 80% of millennials and 71% of Gen Z consumers say they still plan to utilize insurance agents, even with a plethora of online options at their fingertips.
“Real estate, insurance and investments are all hands-on services, with a lot at stake. The advice of the intermediaries is really critical to consumers making the right decisions. But it’s also something you need to experience to appreciate,” Luis Pino, CEO of Agentero, said in a press release. “It’s clear that consumers — especially millennials and Gen Zs — want a test drive when it comes to real estate, insurance and financial specialists. The challenge for the intermediaries: How do you get more consumers to try your services?”
Trust in insurance agents is still an issue for younger consumers, though, and among the three industries included in the survey (real estate and finance being the other two) insurance had the biggest discrepancy in trust between generations.
Older consumers were much more likely to say they trust their agents, with 79% of Baby Boomers, 67% of Gen X and 74% of millennials stating they trust their insurance agent “usually” or “always.” However, only half of Gen Z respondents expressed the same amount of trust in their agents.
Gen Z consumers told Agentero that they don’t always believe they’re heard by their intermediaries, and just over half said they feel their needs are understood by these professionals.
“Agents need to understand how to communicate with all customers and demonstrate value in every interaction. This is especially true when it comes to Gen Zs,” Pino said in the release. “The survey highlights that more than half of the next generation of consumers say they plan to use agents in the future. Think about how much that number can grow once agents expand their ability to build trust and increase understanding. There’s so much value in delivering a great experience from end-to-end.”
You can download Agentero’s survey in its entirety here.
