Reaching Millennials: The Untapped Insurance Opportunity

Introduction

Looking to reach new markets? The Millennial insurance market offers untapped potential to drive new business—if you take the right approach.

Here’s why: As noted by the Levvel Research 2021 Insurance Consumer Report, there’s a growing generational gap in how consumers prioritize and purchase insurance products, meaning the processes and policies that worked for Generation X or Baby Boomers may not capture Millennial interest.

Let’s break down the key components—who, what, and how— you need to make the most of this evolving insurance market.

Who Makes Up the Untapped Market?

Millennials are now the bulk of the American workforce. Many are transitioning into higher-responsibility job roles, starting families, and considering what their long-term financial futures will look like.

There’s a double challenge for insurance providers looking to capture this market: Millennials on average have less available capital and expect different consumer experiences.

With American Millennials still paying back student loan debt, they’re now choosing to delay life milestones, such as buying cars or homes, and they prefer a different type of insurance experience. Where Baby Boomers and Generation X prioritize getting to know an insurance agent personally and favor phone-based support, Millennials prefer self-service tools and mobile apps for their insurance purchases.

What Are the Key Areas to Explore?

The Levvel Research 2021 Insurance Consumer Report identifies three key areas across the untapped market: home, auto, and renters insurance. Let’s break down each opportunity in more detail.

Consider renters insurance. In 2021, nearly 50 percent of Millennials reported having renters insurance. With home costs rising and homeownership rates predicted to decline over the next few decades, the need for renters insurance will increase substantially, making it a growth opportunity for insurance providers.

When it comes to home and auto insurance, meanwhile, the outlook is much different. While almost 100 percent of Gen X and Baby Boomers have both of these products, just over 50 percent of Millennials have home insurance and less than 40 percent have auto insurance.

On the home-buying front, many Millennials now find themselves priced out of the market. With home values and sales volumes rising, more Millennials are choosing to rent than buy since, in many cases, this is more cost-effective.

When it comes to auto insurance, more Millennials are opting for on-demand ride-sharing applications over the costs of owning, insuring, and maintaining a vehicle.

In practice, this means that generational divides driven by changing economic conditions now make it harder for providers to boost home and auto policy sales. As a result, it’s critical to create customer relationships based on trust and reciprocity so that when Millennials do eventually choose to buy homes or cars, they’ll know where to go.

How Do Insurance Companies Tap This Potential?

What can insurance companies do to ensure they’re top of mind for untapped markets and segments?

The biggest priority is personalization. Seventy percent of Millennials said that providers should offer policies that adapt to consumer needs because individual risk varies significantly. Self-service tools are also critical. Millennials rank this as their number one expectation in the insurance purchasing process. Last but not least? Experienced agents. While Millennials prefer easily accessible digital tools and visit insurance agents less frequently, 30 percent still say they feel the need to speak to agents several times per year.

Ready to capture untapped market potential and make the most of Millennial opportunity? Read the full Levvel Research 2021 Insurance Consumer Report.