UK Term Assurance: Distribution Dynamics 2024

This report explores how term assurance customers' purchasing preferences have changed over time. It identifies the most important factors driving term assurance purchases and reveals the most popular providers in the market. In addition, the report discusses the key trends and innovations that will influence the market over the next few years.

The 2024 UK Insurance Consumer Survey found that acquiring a home is a significant catalyst for procuring mortgage-related term assurance. Despite elevated interest rates and the prevailing affordability crisis, purchasing, refinancing, and relocating remain the primary drivers for customers seeking mortgage-related term. In contrast, customers are much less likely to be motivated by a specific trigger in the non-mortgage space.

Scope

• The insurer channel still leads the non-mortgage-related term assurance market. However, the growing presence of brokers, banks, and PCWs in this segment resulted in insurers’ share falling by 12.9 percentage points (pp) in 2024.
• The proportion of consumers visiting a price comparison website (PCW) before purchasing mortgage-related term policies increased by 12.9pp from 2023 to 2024. As consumers seek value amid financial constraints, PCWs are poised for growth, enabling individuals to compare policies effectively.
• The top five providers of non-mortgage-related term assurance now command a more substantial portion of the market compared to their counterparts in the mortgage-related segment, suggesting reduced competition in the former.

Reasons to Buy

• Understand consumer purchasing decisions in the term assurance space and how these will influence the market over the next few years.
• Improve customer engagement by recognizing what is most important to them and how to adapt products and services to meet their needs.
• Compare the Net Promoter Scores of key insurance providers.
• Discover which providers lead the way in the term assurance space and learn about new product innovations.
• Adapt your distribution strategy to ensure it still meets customer purchasing behaviors.