Also the auto contract must be of quality

October 30, 2011 12:00 AM

Large users of the highway or small education, families, or young drivers, officials or workers employees, drivers of 4 x 4 or hybrid cars, motorcyclists or baby boomers irresistible for a high-end vehicle: they have a common point. Auto insurers seek to attract them, on a background of fierce ad battle. And strategists tell their success with gluttony. Each flatter to have benefited from the efforts of communication of one brother, to have been because of the new product from a competitor, with a decrease in tariff. The list is not exhaustive but one thing is obvious: the automobile insurance market wants to seduce, and relies on a strong idea, the segmentation of the offer for this.

This wave of new products is based on a double motivation. Etienne Couturier, Director-General delegate of the MAAF insurance explains: "the market has become very competitive". The vehicle fleet is more than 1.5 per year, while the number of players has increased and the bancassureurs in particular took a market share of 10 in less than fifteen years. It is therefore fundamental to be efficient. Also, the auto contract must be of quality. For the consumer, it plays a key role in the choice of his insurance company and the purchase of other contracts. "In 1999, the MAAF pack has married credit and insurance while finishing an impersonal and mandatory product. Recent declines in prices in 2004 were the opportunity to launch new targeted offers: good drivers, young drivers...

Mutual without intermediate are awakened and conventional companies have digested the mergers of the past decade. Therefore, for three years, many lines were consolidated and customer approach is refined. "It is true that the trend is today more oriented towards a niche policy, proposing an addition of services based on demand and the means of the intended target," notes Patrick Schindler, responsible for the day before in Capa Board. The period is favourable, with the decline of the road since 2002 and the reduction of overhead in networks. The State also required tariff reductions modulated for good drivers. The profession ready but with caution, because the decline in claims (2 last year) range with the rise in expenses (estimated at 2). These tariff gestures are also envisaged as of retention tools, especially strong concern that the new law "châtel" facilitates the change of insurer.

All of the coveted home

Statistics show that the customer loyalty increases with the number of contracts entered into in the same insurer. Aviva France draws the consequences: "more and more, our approach is cross." "Insurers are looking for targets in terms of clientele to equip, and not only risks to ensure", explains Claude Zaouati, Director of the insurance of individuals, that "works" for a long time with the families. Also launches this month following a 10 reduction on insurance of vehicles in the best sales of new cars, the sign of a certain standing. It is indeed the household as a whole that is coveted, as also shown in the "family bonus" of the group.

While having good reason to refine their business approach and marketing, insurers are progressing in knowledge of the risks. "It is in fact two approaches that meet," says Pascal Thebe, Director of AXA France Solutions. One commercial, is to determine what may be of interest to certain sets of clients in terms of guarantees and services. The other, more technical, isolated segments of the portfolio of contracts based on the risk of loss associated with them. "Cross the information is so successful that major insurers have invested in their databases. They worked on their customer files with modern software tools, but also on vehicles and their level of equipment and the "zoniers" these analytical tools able to classify territories according to observed automobile loss experience.

A few examples among many others. In AXA France of first, a reduction of 25 is applied since 2003 to minivans. "We realized that the technical results were much better that the average, said Pascal Thebe." As family vehicles, this can be explained by less risky behaviour on the part of drivers. "Second experience, that of the Macif, which has enriched its databases to better understand the risk and its pricing. "This has concerned including fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and also the results of the"crash tests", whose standards are more recent," said Christophe Rougon, head of the private market. This work resulted in the reduction

of the premium "car clean and safe car" launched in February: "our data show that in the course of the past five years, the burden of loss is lower for vehicles rated in the"crash tests". Regarding the cleaner, this measure is part in the concrete commitments of the Macif for the environment. In addition, we have not yet enough recoil to identify a potential impact on the loss experience. "Other insurers agree great rates to low emission vehicles, but most are restricted to hybrid, electric and LPG. Third testimony, that of Aviva, which was much refined his zonier. "We have obtained an advantage against the competition, because we are located in the entire France, especially in rural areas." "We have also worked quite fine manner on the city of Paris," says Claude Zaouati.

Many information

In order to evaluate and price risks, subscription forms collect information, on the driver, but also the vehicle, its use, its age and the level of assurance. Teachers or officials have long been regarded as less risky. We also know that a scalded "malussé" can become more cautious as a driver with a 50 bonus, too confident. More recently, insurers abandoned the premium for young drivers, considered less dangerous than boys of the same age. They encourage also often accompanied by conduct, with a view to prevention or to parents... Sometimes, the vehicle or its equipment level provides good indications on behaviour at the wheel of his owner. Knowing that 4 x 4 or other surpuissantes cars are nonsense more necessarily with sporting conduct.

Society is changing, and those who imagine targeted offers account. "Was considered for long the risk to the vehicle." "Today, we realize that the person who drives is important, even more", says Xavier Trelcat, responsible for marketing and commercial of Axeria property and casualty. This subsidiary of the April Group has built a contract "responsible drivers" which targets motorists vigilant. Its franchise damage is scalable, repealed if the accident is caused by a puddle of oil, but increased when a red light was burned. The responsible driver matches the first two categories of the AXA prevention-TNS Sofres barometer: the "environmentally friendly" (37 of the drivers, often women or responsible for family) and the "legalist" (32, often seniors and retirees), as opposed to the "Freedman" (19, young people and men followers of driving fast and athletic, big education), the "unconscious" (7, no profile...) or the "madman of the wheel" (5)(, owners of vehicles utilities, multimotorisés). Another contract of April Group woos buyers of high end vehicles. A rich "insurable matter" target, such as the responsible drivers.

Ethical issues

The individualization of offers however has its limits, and not only in terms of development and distribution costs. "There is a trend reflected in Anglo-Saxon countries, that the behavioural actuarial notes Stanislas Di Vittorio, the founder of Assurland, a comparator of rates on the Internet.". This is the style of life and its impact on the loss experience of interest to this approach. "And further:"this is no longer the technical capacity to collect data that is at stake, but the acceptability of the criteria to work. ". This refers to a fundamental debate on what is possible ethically. "The Maif uses elsewhere, in principle, under criteria as the other members of the profession. Easy, disliked some of them, as it provides many teachers. Moreover, on-board recording systems could disrupt the mode of pricing, but they still raise objections (see below).

In the meantime, there are the "silent segmentations. Tempting offers are often reserved for new customers; or left to the discretion of the trading networks. And the phenomenon of the uninsured in growth, must be taken seriously, says Alain Bourdelat, the Director General of the mandatory insurance guarantee fund. Without forgetting that the portfolios of contracts are regularly passed to the comb end. "there is an abnormal phenomenon of termination for good drivers", said a spokesman for the League of the rights of the insured. This can happen for "abnormal frequency" not responsible for claims, or even to age too high. Under the contract, this type of termination allows insurers to redress the profitability of their portfolio if required. A new tariff can then be proposed. "We assure more in addition to drivers who have a 50 bonus", confirms indeed Jean-Pierre Labalette, the founder of SOS Malus. One thing is certain, whether discrete or displayed, the segmentation is now part of the daily life of the insured.