Germans Buy Insurance Online

According to the latest Online Finance Monitor from NFO Infratest, one out of six Internet users in Germany first find out via the Web about the various insurance alternatives offered by different insurers before taking out a new insurance policy.

In the case of some types of insurance, for example full private health insurance, as many as one out of three Internet users first use the Web as a source of information and one out of four do so when it comes to automobile and private liability insurance. More than one half of those 'online researchers' eventually also buy their insurance at one of the insurance companies visited online.

Researchers at NFO Financial Research point out that the Internet plays an increasingly decisive role in competition among insurance companies in Germany. To offer a convincing range of services, online presence has become an important factor in the acquisition of new customers.

German Internet users are keen to access the following services from insurance companies online: ordering information material, obtaining quotes and taking out insurance policies over the Web.

The Online Finance Monitor is carried out four times a year and is based on a total of 8,000 online interviews (2,000 interviews in each survey). The goal is a detailed analysis of the online financial behaviour of regular online users in bank, insurance and building society sectors. The results are representative for those Internet users in Germany who used the Internet and e-mail during the four weeks previous to the study.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.