Do Customers Want to Communicate with Insurers on Social Media? An Investigation of the Swiss Market

Abstract

Social media usage has grown rapidly in recent years, and with it companies’ interest in interacting with their customers on these platforms. It is, however, not yet clear whether customers welcome more intense relationships on social media and what drives this acceptance in more detail. Our research aims at understanding how age, gender, geography, usage, type of platform, personality, and current insurance provider impact customers’ attitudes towards interacting with insurance companies in the Swiss market. We find that age and frequency of use, in particular, impact acceptance, with younger customers much more open to interactions and insurance presence more welcome on more frequently used tools. This is an encouraging result for insurers, as customers tend to welcome them where customers are already frequently present. In addition, insurers can look forward to increasing interaction as younger individuals, who are more open to social media, age into core customers. Social context, on the other hand, plays only a minor role in customer preferences. The current insurance provider plays no significant role, in spite of insurance companies in the sample following widely different approaches to digital offerings and communication. This may be due to the early stage of development of the industry.