The coronavirus pandemic has boosted digital transformation in many economic sectors; however, the share of online insurance sales on the Russian insurance market has not increased considerably.
Pavel Samiyev, chairman of the Opora Russia committee for financial markets and general director of the BusinessDrom analytical center, said that at a press breakfast hosted by Absolut Insurance.
According to Pavel Samiyev, in 2019, the share of online sales was some 68%; in 2020, it reached 72%, but it is still lower than in 2018, when it was almost 75%.
A weak growth in online sales is due to the pandemic-triggered low activity of the insured as well as a slump in their incomes, he said.
As regards expected changes in the insurance market, commercial banks are today’s main channels for selling insurance products, with 38% of last year’s sales conducted through them; within the next few years, we may see ecosystems and marketplaces become major sales channels, Samiyev noted.
This will most likely lead to a change in regulatory rules as marketplaces are formally not participants in the insurance market today, he added.