Property insurance shopping is showing more resilience than renters insurance shopping, while auto insurance shopping remains flat, according to the latest quarterly Loyalty Indicator and Shopping Trends (LIST) from J.D. Power and TransUnion.
The percentage of change in property insurance shopping hovered around 4 to 5% during most of the second quarter of 2022, while the percentage of change in renters insurance shopping during that time dropped from about -5% to -15%. These two statistics had stayed pretty aligned through rises and falls in LIST reports since January 2021, but since February 2022 have begun to diverge.
A TransUnion executive attributes the rise in property insurance shopping to a rise in millennials buying or planning to buy homes. "Millennials are still optimistic about homeownership, with 40% of Millennials intending to apply for a mortgage," said Michelle Jackson, senior director of personal lines market strategy at TransUnion, in a statement.
According to TransUnion research, Gen X and Millennials account for the highest percentage increase in home shopping, rising 11 to 14% year over year.
In auto insurance, shopping rate increases held at 11.7% compared to 11.8% in the second quarter. The switch rate among auto insurance policyholders rose to 3.8% compared to 3.6% in the previous quarter.
Analysis in the LIST report found a significant shift in the characteristics of auto insurance policyholders with State Farm compared to Liberty Mutual. State Farm and Liberty Mutual have both lost homeowners with two cars and two drivers, but renters who have one car and one driver are going to State Farm while Liberty Mutual is getting the lucrative business of homeowners with three or more cars and three or more drivers.
For the third quarter, State Farm had a 16.8% share of the market of auto insurance shopper quotes, while Liberty Mutual had a 10.6% share.
As auto insurance shopping rates stayed flat, usage-based insurance programs have been offered more, the report noted. As of September, 22.1% of auto insurance shoppers with poor to fair credit chose UBI, while 17.8% of those with good to excellent credit did so too.
