3 out of 4 insurance policies to be sold online by 2020: Study

As many as three out of every four insurance policies will be sold online by 2020, says a Google study.

"It is estimated that three in every four insurance policies sold by 2020 would be influenced by digital channels during either the pre-purchase stage, purchase or renewal stages," according to the report prepared by Google in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The report 'Digital@Insurance-20X By 2020' asserts that not only will insurance sales from online channels grow 20 fold from today by 2020, but overall Internet influenced sales would be Rs 3,00,000-4,00,000 crore.

"The exploding popularity of smartphones and Internet has become a core part of life for many consumers across the globe and in India," the report said.

The influence of Digital is already 'big' and is getting 'bigger', exponentially in terms of user growth and time taken. The connected online population of over two billion users forms a brand new market that cuts across borders, it added.

"As insurers seek new avenues to grow profitably, they have a unique opportunity to embrace and benefit from the digital wave, which also addresses many key issues that plague the offline world today," it said.

"The digital adoption could result in potential savings of 15-20 per cent of total costs in the case of life insurance and 20-30 per cent in the case of non life, thereby showing the path towards profitability for the industry", said Alpesh Shah, a BCG Senior Partner also the author of the report.

"While online purchases represent a small component of insurance activity in India today, the overall influence of Internet on insurance product purchase in India is already 6x and growing rapidly," said, Vikas Agnihotri, Industry Director, BFSI, Travel Google India.