Not that long ago, buying insurance was a time-consuming, often awkward process. You called several providers, repeated the same details and tried to negotiate a better price. It wasn’t always efficient, but it was human. People relied on recommendations, local brokers and trust built through conversation.

Today, the journey is faster, more digital and, in some ways, more fragile. Comparison sites, direct-to-consumer propositions and app-based journeys have made it easier to shop around, but they have also compressed decision-making into a few clicks. This convenience has changed behaviour, shifted power in distribution and introduced new risks. For many customers, speaking to a human only happens when making a claim.

How consumers discover and compare insurance today

The easiest way to describe the modern buying journey is ‘digital-first, reassurance-seeking’. Many consumers begin online, often with price comparison or quick quote journeys, but they still look for signs that a provider is legitimate and likely to pay claims. This is especially true when the product feels complex (eg for higher-value homes, specialist cover etc) or when the customer has had a poor experience in the past.

Even within a same type of insurance, customers behave differently. Recent benchmarking in the UK motor market shows just how wide the spread can be. Customers of direct insurers switched at renewal at 22%, compared with 53% for customers of small brokers. The average across segments was 32%. That’s a meaningful indicator of how loyal relationships can be compared with how exposed some routes to market are to price-led churn.

Price pressure is reshaping behaviour

The economic backdrop matters. When premiums rise faster than wages, getting a lower price shifts from a consumer choice to a necessity, which changes risk dynamics.

The FCA’s Financial Lives survey has been explicit about affordability pressure in the market. One widely cited finding from analysis of the 2024 survey is that millions of adults reported cancelling, reducing cover or choosing not to buy insurance because they couldn’t afford premiums.

When consumers are under pressure, they become more susceptible to false ‘deals’. This is where the risk of illegal ghost broking arises. A recent FCA survey highlights that around half (49%) of 17–25 year-olds have purchased insurance via social media or messaging apps, and 39% said they wouldn’t feel confident spotting a fake policy. In parallel, insurers have pointed to an increase in ghost broking activity over the last couple of years, reinforcing that this is a sizeable threat.

Consumers can end up unknowingly uninsured, facing enforcement action and struggling to obtain affordable cover afterwards. As many ghost broker journeys mimic legitimate digital distribution, the scam exploits the behaviours the market and consumers have encouraged: speed, low friction and price-led choice.

Brokers have an opportunity to win business by resetting their proposition away from ‘shopping around for you’, towards ‘keeping you safe and properly covered’. The switching data suggests that relationships still matter but brokers need to prove their role in a world where consumers can get a quote in minutes. In practice, that means making the benefits of their advice visible by explaining exclusions, supporting claims, helping clients reduce risk (not just premiums) and being a trusted filter against fraud.

How AI is changing how people buy insurance

AI adds another shift in the market. In the US, the launch of Insurify’s ChatGPT-based comparison capability triggered a sharp market reaction. The S&P 500 Insurance Index fell 3.9% – its biggest drop since October, with major broker stocks also falling heavily on the day as investors weighed the long-term threat of AI-enabled middleman disruption. Regardless of whether the reaction was an overcorrection, it signals that discovery and comparison are moving into new surfaces involving chat interfaces, embedded assistants and agentic search.

For the UK, where comparison culture is mature, the near-term approach could be to reshape the front end of the journey with fewer clicks, more conversational filtering and faster narrowing of options.

A forward look: what ‘good’ could look like from here

Over the next few years, we envisage three shifts to happen in parallel:

• The market will split further by segment. To cover simple risks, consumers will increasingly opt for self-serve buying journeys. High-stakes needs will remain advice-led. The winners will design for both without trying to make one model fit all.
• Blockades to fraud will increase. As ghost broking and policy manipulation rise, we’ll see more verification and stronger controls in onboarding as well as better consumer education about buying safely.
• AI will become a distribution layer. Rather than replacing brokers entirely straight away, AI will change how consumers discover options, understand cover and decide which provider to trust, with human advice concentrating where it adds the most value.

Buying insurance is easier than it once was, but getting the right cover has arguably become harder. The industry has an opportunity to meet busy, cost-pressured consumers where they are with digital journeys while strengthening the basic necessities: clarity, legitimacy and trust.

For more insight into the insurance market and how we can help support your business, please contact Erin Sims.

Latest related insights