One in 10 Europeans do not trust insurers

30 September 2010 12:00 pm | By Natalie Holt

One in 10 European consumers do not buy protection due to an inherent lack of trust in insurance companies, a Swiss Re rep-ort has found.

The findings are based on a survey of over 11,000 people across 12 countries in continental Europe and includes previous Swiss Re research on the UK market.

Swiss Re says in the report that when consumers were asked the primary reason for not buying protection, it found that many people still have an inherent distrust in insurers.

The report shows that consumer trust grows in countries where the insurance market is more established but is lost as mistakes are made due to ins-urer complacency and poor customer experience.

Head of client markets Europe Martin Albers says: “Building trust among consumers must be one of the strategies that companies use to release the brakes in this important business segment to encourage consumers to buy and insurers to sell.”

Axxis Financial Planning director Owen Wintersgill says it can be difficult for consumers to trust insurers, particularly when it comes to getting critical-illness claims paid.

He says: “Buying insurance is almost like a promise and if that promise gets reneged upon, it is very difficult to inspire someone’s confidence when there are insurers that wriggle out of paying.”

He says insurers publishing claim statistics have gone some way to building trust but this could be boosted further by insurers putting claims on risk straight away and then requesting a GP report.

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