August 3rd, 2022, Bhawna Singh
The pandemic changed the perception of insurance as more individuals felt the need to be prepared for unforeseen situations. But with the cost of living on the upswing, will the insurance sector suffer a setback? In a recent survey, YouGov asked consumers across 18 markets in which areas would they first make cutbacks if their household budget is squeezed due to an increase in cost of living.
Over a tenth (13%) of global consumers answered insurance policies or premiums. In India, the number is slightly above the global average (at 15%). Having said that, insurance is the area of consumer spend most resistant to cost of living increases in the country. Eating out (52%), Clothing (49%), and Travel (46%) top the list of things consumers would cut back on to reduce household expenses.
Drilling into the data by market, the highest numbers came from Australia (18%). In Europe, about one-fifth of consumers in Germany (18%), Spain (16%), and Italy (16%) said that they would cut back on insurance policies if household budgets were squeezed. In comparison, the numbers were significantly less in Sweden (8%) and Denmark (5%). Nearly one in 10 consumers from Britain and the US answered that they will look to cut back on this type of spending in the event of household budget limitations.
Within APAC, Hong Kong and India reported higher numbers, as compared to China, Indonesia, and Singapore.
Breaking down the data according to age, we see that global adults aged 35-44 and 45-54 are most likely to say they will make cutbacks on insurance (14% each). In India, the scenario is reversed and we see consumers aged 45-54 (11%) and 55+ (10%) being less likely to cut back on insurance in comparison to those aged 35-44 (19%) and 25-34 (18%).
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Methodology
The data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 508 and 2065 for each market. All interviews were conducted online in May 2022. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Indian data is based on a sample of 1008 adults.