Tom Flack
Year in Review: What Were Your Biggest Stories?
consumer intelligence
As chosen by you, here's a look at the most viewed, liked and shared articles in 2017.
At the end of 2016 our CEO, Ian Hughes, predicted that this year would prove an eventful one: the looming threat posed by digital disruption and GDPR; the slow but unrelenting march of premium inflation; the continued squeeze on the personal lines broking model. Yet few, if any accounted for what was truly to come.
As devastating hurricanes across the Atlantic caused over $100 billion in insured losses, prompting speculation that the commercial market was at last set to turn, the Government caused a storm of its own. In February it controversially revised the calculation for the payment of personal injury claims, known as the Ogden Rate, precipitating the largest sustained rise in motor rates since our records began. And this is where our overview of the most popular stories of the year begins.
As the market played a particularly tense game of cat and mouse, our analysis 'One Month After Ogden: How Motor Insurers Are Pricing Their Response' proved very popular. Only one article, in fact, received more traffic over the course of 2017. A corresponding article in August which revealed insurers were rolling back their Discount Rate hikes received almost as much attention.
Regulating the News
External market forces were again thrust to the top of the agenda in April, when the regulator's move to force insurers to disclose last year's premium to consumers in their renewal letters came into effect. The FCA's position may have been clear, but we wanted to know what those impacted by the changes thought. Two pieces gave us the answers. The first, 'What Will Publishing Last Year's Premium Do For Your Business?' in January revealed the amount by which insurers could increase premiums before the majority of their customers would switch to a new provider — £40. 'Renewal Transparency: What Do Consumers Think?' showed that most consumers expected a better deal. The stories ranked fourth and fifth on our annual list.
While we naturally keep a close eye on the news, it's our competitive benchmarking and insight for which we are known by the market — and it shows in our audience figures. 'Who's Gaining Ground In Home Insurance?' placed third on the most read chart; a similar piece looking at the fastest growing motor insurers featuring esure ranked sixth. Brand was also of natural interest to our readers, with a piece analysing the biggest players in home, led by Direct Line, also making our Top 10. Also on the list is an analysis of Hastings, which made the headlines after posting its eighth successive quarter of growth in October — we suggested just how it did it here. This also proved to be the story most sought after by our newsletter readership in 2017.
Fair Comment
Rounding out our most popular articles are two pieces from our CEO. The first commented on the potential impact of the Ogden Rate shift on call centres. The second, 'Fixing The 'Broken' Personal Lines Market' lamented the unfortunate and coinciding timing of Ogden and Renewal Disclosure — and the impact it would have on consumer perceptions of insurers. It wasn't pretty, and the media duly seized upon it.
A number of our blogs generated significant engagement from other sources, most notably LinkedIn and this account of how digital innovation does not always mean good customer service — a worthy nod to how front of mind the disruption of the industry has become, even if the disruption itself is yet to materialise. Our related research, Digital Insurance vs. Customer need, was the most popular infographic in 2017, mirroring the market's growing obsession with the topic.
Over the course of the year, however, the blog that proved most popular of all, drawing audience from a wide range of sources including search and social, was on a topic that is never far from our hearts — and indeed is the one that justifies the very existence of the industry.
The 'Top 10 Insurance Brands For Claims Satisfaction Voted By Consumers', is a timely reminder that serving your customers, particularly when they need you the most, is the surest way to build a successful business. An honourable mention goes to the 'Top 10 Home And Motor Insurance Brands For Trust', which played on a similar theme, and attracted significant interest throughout the course of the year.
The Top 10 articles of 2017
1. The Top 10 Insurance Brands For Claims Satisfaction
2. One Month After Ogden: How Motor Insurers Are Pricing Their Response
3. Who's Gaining Ground In Home Insurance?
4. Renewal Transparency: What Do Consumers Think?
5. What Will Publishing Last Year's Premium Do For Your Business?
6. Who's The Fastest Growing Motor Insurer?
7. Who Are The Best Known Home Insurance Brands?
8. What's Driving Hastings' Growth?
9. The Timing For Discount Rate Changes Couldn't Be Tougher
10. Fixing The 'Broken' Personal Lines Market
What was your favourite CI story of the year? Let us know in the comments, below.
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2017 In 9 Numbers