Digital trends in the insurance sector

Heavily dictated by red tape and changing market demands, the insurance industry is complex to navigate. When combined with the ever-changing digital landscape, knowing how to create an effective and results-focused digital marketing strategy can feel like a minefield. We have over 11 years of experience working with clients in the insurance field, helping big-name brands like Aviva and Gallagher to drive policies through digital channels.

An evolving space, keeping up with the changing trends in insurance and how these may influence your business is a tall order. In this article, we’ll discuss these emerging digital insurance trends and how they can support your goals in 2023.

1) Content will always be king

Since the E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) update first landed in 2018, content’s importance in Your Money Your Life (YMYL) industries is nothing new. The first trend we’re regularly seeing is insurance clients putting a real focus on experience and how this can tie into their content.

Since Google’s latest amendment to the screener guidelines came at the end of last year, we’re seeing another shift in how content should be delivered. Introducing ‘E-E-A-T’, the latest addition emphasises the importance of demonstrating experience in your content. Alongside ensuring you satisfy query intent, you need to demonstrate hands-on, real-life experience surrounding topics.

Particularly poignant in the insurance sector, consider adding interview pieces to your blog content with existing customers featuring positive stories or creating case studies that demonstrate your work.

2) Use your bank of first-party data

When the iOS 14 update came into play back in X, Apple users were given the power of privacy. Now, able to opt out of tracking and the sun setting on third-party data usage on Google, you need to make the most of your first-party data.

With a unique bank of first-party data collected through quotes, policies and pricing, insurance firms have a strong starting point as marketers transition away from leaning on third-party data. Leveraging this pot of data lies a wealth of opportunity from a digital PR standpoint.

Although first-party data often offers untapped potential, the move away from traditional third-party data begs the question of how to target and reach new audiences. Paid media should be feeding into your marketing strategy, looking for ways to embrace this change and leverage existing data to drive business.

By collecting and using first-party data, your paid media campaigns can deliver much more personalised ads that are more likely to deliver conversions. Take, for instance, a visitor to your site who browses your travel insurance to Europe FAQ page. Now you have a potential client with a high search intent to deliver retargeting ads to.

While the move away from third-party poses its own challenges, the move to more relevant data can only be a good thing for insurance businesses if harnessed correctly.

3) Focus on brand advocacy

In a highly competitive space, standing out from the crowd is vital. But with the likes of comparison sites dominating the playing field, what can you do to put your brand in prospective customers’ minds?

Brand advocacy is paramount when looking to reach new audiences and win new business. Using your existing customer base and putting their experiences at the forefront of your proposition promotes trust in both current and potential clients.

When looking to boost brand advocacy, think customer-first. What do you have in place to encourage those already with you to stay when it’s time to renew, to promote you to their friends and family, and to leave positive reviews? The 2021 Nielsen’s Advertising study reported that 89 percent of people trust recommendations from people they know, doubling the likelihood they will take action. Consider implementing things like referral programmes, a reward or loyalty scheme and asking customers for feedback regularly. All these things help create an image of your brand that will support new business.

This strategy is more important than ever with the FCA changes surrounding renewal, whereby prices for existing clients can’t exceed prices for new clients. Alongside this, brand advocacy strategies work towards increasing customer lifetime value.

4) Increase your conversion rates

The fourth digital trend in insurance is a focus on conversion rates from brochureware through to quote engines. Quote engines by nature are complex, so delivering a highly impactful frontend CMS is paramount to increase policy acquisition.

Brochureware sites are exactly what they sound like, attractive frontends that have insightful and helpful content to help drive leads. Insurance businesses need to ensure their sites pack a punch, delivering their messaging effectively to encourage users to move through the journey to their quote engine.

But how can you create a site that can actually support your lead generation goals? Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) is nothing new, but a vastly underused tool. Through data analysis, you can see which parts of your site are performing and which areas fall behind the competition. Underpinned by research, CRO shows how to refresh your UX designs and update your onsite personalisation based on your audience, supporting increased conversion rates.

5) Reach niche sectors with long-tail keywords

The final trend we’re noticing across insurance verticals is how specialist brokers are winning the battle in search. Insurance is an industry with a lot of niche areas of cover such as gap, temporary and learner insurance. While these policies may have less overall search volume, the intent behind the search is likely higher.

Specialist brands have the upper hand over comparison sites if they implement their SEO strategy effectively. By correctly identifying and harnessing specific, long-tail keywords you can tap into to a very lucrative and high-intent market.

We work closely with our clients in the industry to identify niche phrases that support their customer targeting and acquisition goals. Through highly relevant content that addresses all the points of E-E-A-T, along with dedicated landing pages, smaller specialist brokers can home in on their desired audience to drive meaningful leads.

Tap into our experience within the insurance industry

We work with an extensive range of clients who sit in the insurance industry, from mass-market car insurance providers to market giants Gallagher. Our breadth of experience means we can identify, and tap into, digital trends in the insurance sector to provide you with strategies and actions that deliver real results.

If you’re struggling to navigate the evolving landscape of digital marketing or simply want to boost your brand, get in touch to see how we can support your business.