For years, the connection in insurance coverage was comparatively predictable.
When costs hardened aggressively, customers shopped tougher.
When costs softened, switching exercise accelerated as insurers fought aggressively for market share.
However the newest Shopper Intelligence behavioural information means that relationship is starting to interrupt down.
Regardless of sustained softening in new enterprise pricing via a lot of 2025, procuring and switching exercise throughout each motor and residential insurance coverage stays subdued.
And that will say much less about shopper apathy — and extra about how essentially the insurance coverage market itself has modified.
Softer pricing has not translated into stronger switching
Throughout house insurance coverage, procuring charges fell from 78% to 70% year-on-year, whereas switching dropped from 40% to 33%.
Motor insurance coverage confirmed a near-identical sample:
- procuring declined from 76% to 70%
- switching lowered from 37% to 33%.
This decline has occurred throughout a interval the place market pricing circumstances have materially softened in comparison with the inflationary peaks of 2023 and early 2024.
Traditionally, softer acquisition pricing would sometimes set off extra aggressive switching behaviour as insurers pushed aggressively for development via worth comparability web sites and direct acquisition channels.
As an alternative, the market seems to be experiencing one thing completely different:
- customers are procuring much less
- switching much less
- and displaying better willingness to stay with present suppliers.
The market construction has modified
A part of the reason might lie in how dramatically the insurance coverage panorama has advanced over the previous couple of years.
The market is now working in a post-GIPP atmosphere, following:
- sustained claims inflation
- FCA pricing intervention
- elevated underwriting self-discipline
- lowered urge for food for aggressive acquisition pricing
- and vital M&A and market consolidation exercise.
The result’s a market with much less aggressive aggressive stress than existed in the course of the pre-2020 switching period.
Again in 2018 and 2019, insurers repeatedly prioritised development via acquisition. Excessive ranges of procuring and switching have been usually fuelled by aggressive pricing differentials between suppliers.
Right now, many insurers are balancing development ambitions towards profitability pressures and retention stability.
That seems to be filtering via into shopper behaviour.
Shoppers might not see sufficient worth in switching
The info more and more suggests customers are questioning whether or not the hassle of switching is definitely worth the potential saving.
In house insurance coverage, customers are more and more citing pricing stability as a motive to not store, with extra respondents saying their premium was “about the identical as final 12 months” in comparison with the earlier 12 months.
In the meantime, causes for staying have gotten much less purely price-driven.
In motor insurance coverage, customers renewing between December 2025 and February 2026 have been:
- much less prone to swap as a result of a brand new coverage was cheaper (-6 share factors)
- and extra prone to swap for higher cowl (+5 share factors).
On the identical time, extra respondents cited:
- constructive claims experiences
- glorious service
- and premium matching by present insurers
as causes for remaining with their present supplier.
This implies customers might more and more understand much less differentiation between suppliers on worth alone.
Retention might quietly be successful once more
Some of the fascinating findings is that longer-tenure prospects seem more and more steady.
In house insurance coverage, prospects who had remained with their insurer for 5 years or extra noticed procuring charges decline by simply -1 share level year-on-year, in comparison with a lot sharper declines amongst lower-tenure prospects.
Latest quarterly information additionally confirmed:
- procuring amongst prospects with 1-2 years tenure fell by -9 factors
- whereas procuring amongst prospects with 3+ years tenure elevated barely.
This will likely point out that insurers have gotten simpler at defending present books — not essentially via aggressive pricing, however via improved buyer retention methods and extra balanced renewal outcomes post-GIPP.
Youthful customers are not behaving as anticipated
Maybe the clearest signal that conventional switching dynamics are weakening will be seen amongst youthful drivers.
Motor insurance coverage procuring charges for 18-24-year-olds declined by -19 share factors year-on-year — considerably bigger than the reductions seen in older age teams.
Traditionally, youthful drivers have been among the many most price-sensitive and acquisition-responsive teams out there.
The size of this decline might point out:
- procuring fatigue
- lowered expectations of significant financial savings
- telematics stabilisation
- or a broader sense that the market is not producing dramatically higher alternate options.
Claims expertise might now matter greater than worth
One other main behavioural shift is rising amongst claimants.
In each motor and residential insurance coverage, claimants at the moment are procuring extra continuously whereas concurrently switching much less efficiently.
On the identical time, claimants are considerably extra prone to cite:
- glorious service
- constructive claims experiences
- promoting recognition
- and word-of-mouth suggestions
as drivers of behaviour.
This factors towards an more and more vital market dynamic:
claims expertise might now be appearing as a stronger retention anchor than worth alone.
The period of easy switching could also be fading
None of this implies customers have stopped caring about worth.
However it could counsel that:
- the financial savings hole between suppliers has narrowed
- customers are much less satisfied switching will materially enhance outcomes
- and insurers are working in a market the place retention economics matter greater than pure acquisition development.
That creates a really completely different aggressive atmosphere from the one insurers operated in 5 or 6 years in the past.
And it could clarify why softer pricing alone is not sufficient to reignite switching behaviour.