millennials and technology
August 14, 2018

Life insurance in the age of the millennial

In the digital age, millennials are becoming increasing technologically/digitally orientated. We are using our cell phones for more things and downloading more apps. We are becoming better acquainted with the small rectangular screens and our thumbs are growing in strength as we increase our speed typing ability.

You get the picture. We millennials use our phones for pretty much everything! Coupled with this is an ever-increasing number of people who own smartphones in the world. Business Tech shared a report earlier in the year that claims 51% of South Africa’s population owns a smart phone. Why is this relevant? It highlights the growth of technology and the way consumers are accessing products in the market.

My love of riding mountain bikes is one of the reasons I took out life cover

What do cell phones and technology have to do with insurance? A lot! And here’s why:

Millennials like to have things at our fingertips, for ease of access and because technology is our friend. We are spending more and more time on our phones, which means we are far more inclined to make use of a life insurance offering that is available through an app and doesn’t require a mountain of paperwork. If it’s available on the go, that’s even better!

Interpretations of what life insurance is (and whether you need it or not) vary, especially when you raise the topic within a millennial audience. I have a life insurance policy. I took it out rather reluctantly, but my parents recommended it when I started spending hours of my week cycling. It required a fair amount of paperwork and a couple of meetings for me to fully understand the cover that I needed. In short, life insurance isn’t just life insurance. You can structure it in a way that suits your needs, with disability cover, income protection and dread disease cover, to name a few. I didn’t even think about looking for an app that could have assisted me or provided me with the answers to many of the questions that I had, largely because I never thought it was possible to get life insurance cover through an app. And my parents certainly didn’t, either!

Times are changing. Interested to learn more about other millennials’ perceptions of life insurance, I asked two of the digital nerds at CN&CO a few questions. They had differing opinions on life insurance and whether it is necessary.

Emi Adriano says, “Life insurance is there to cover you should the worst happen. It ensures that a designated beneficiary is paid out. I have paid less attention to its importance as I don’t have dependants or anyone relying on me. But at the same time, I do think it is necessary and I definitely need to understand it better.”

According to Neo Matsei, “Life insurance means taking responsibility for my life. Should anything happen to me, my family does not have to worry about incurring any costs or getting into debt because the finances will be taken care of.”

There are a number of different types of life insurance offerings. So, how do you know which one is right for you and will cover you for your needs? It’s important that you educate yourself on the different types available. Of course, ease of access will play a big role in the selection you make.

Insurtech has evolved immensely over the past few years, providing consumers with easier access to insurance products and education. If I had known some of the things that I now know about life insurance I may have opted to use an on-demand life insurance offering for when I needed it, rather than having one that I am continuously paying for on a monthly basis. However, there are benefits of using and having both.

Earlier this year I discovered an easy-to-use, easy-to-access, on-demand offering called OUTthere. It’s become part of my travelling routine to hop onto the app and take out extra cover when I am going to be travelling in the car for longer than three hours.

Here’s a quick snap-shot of why OUTthere is a great offering:

  • It’s VERY easy to use and access through the OUTsurance app
  • You can get covered in minutes (under 10 minutes to be precise. Yes, I timed it!)
  • It provides you with up to R1 million cover for up to 30 days
  • It’s not only cover for accidental death, you’re also covered for  accidental injury, giving you that extra peace of mind when you try something crazy far outside of your comfort zone

Check out OUTthere for yourself. For more details on the specifics, click here.

Life insurance can be very complex and a lot of this complexity is in the way that it is communicated. Access often requires a mountain of paperwork, which could lead to delays in taking out the cover you need. This is a gap that the on-demand offerings fill well. Technology and insurtech are changing and challenging the norm, which is great. Taking out life insurance should not be difficult; it should be quick and relatively simple. As a millennial, I look forward to seeing where the current insurtech thinking ends up and the impact that it will have on the current life insurance offerings.