Retail and small business policyholders report high satisfaction levels during COVID: Geneva Association

Most customers who interacted with their insurers during the COVID-19 pandemic had a positive experience, according to a report by  the Geneva Association.

Despite high profile coverage of disputes between insurers and their clients related to business interruption coverage, 88 percent of retail customers and 86 percent of small businesses had a positive experience when dealing with their insurers, the report found.

The Geneva Association's report, titled The Global Risk Landscape after COVID-19: What role for insurance?, called for an expanded role for insurance in the post-pandemic risk landscape.

Jad Ariss, The Geneva Association's managing director, said: “Insurance customers are cognisant of the environment and risks evolving around them. However, this is not necessarily leading to the purchase of additional insurance protection; increased cyber risk is a case in point. It is a call to action for insurers to educate customers on the value of what they offer."

The report found that nearly four out of ten (39 percent) of both retail and small business policyholders expect insurers to develop more comprehensive policies to account for future crises.

Meanwhile, the majority of insurance policyholders expect remote working to continue even after lockdowns end. The report found that 64 percent of retail and 62 percent of small businesses believe remote working is the most likely pandemic trend to continue in the future.

The report also revealed deep concerns about extended hospitalisation, among retail customers, with 64 percent citing it as their biggest concern going forward. Meanwhile, nearly seven out of ten (69 percent) of small businesses said their biggest concern was having to let go or furlough employees.

The Geneva report drew on 25 interviews with experts and industry executives and on a 2021 customer survey of 8,000 retail and small business insurance customers from Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US. It was Geneva’s third report in a series on pandemics and insurance.

Ariss said: "Insurers, commendably, remained available and responsive to customers during the pandemic, despite having to rapidly transform their own business operations.”

Kai-Uwe Schanz, The Geneva Association's head of research and foresight and author of the report, added: "Opportunities abound for insurers in the post-pandemic world. Individual and corporate awareness of risks to life, health, income and wealth has reached new heights. More generally, at a societal level, the pivot to sustainability will make it easier for insurers to convey their social purpose: to build resilience and promote sustainable development. At the same time, stakeholder expectations have risen. Post-pandemic, insurers need to step up their game in terms of narrowing the many protection gaps exposed by COVID-19."

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