Denied business interruption claims has been the big story in insurance over the last few weeks, but personal lines insurers cannot rest on their laurels when it comes to the changes facing the market as a result of Covid-19

The furore surrounding denied business interruption claims has taken up a lot of column inches in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and rightly so.

The upcoming test case being heard later this month will help define the future of the BI market, but while all eyes will be on the High Court over the coming weeks, insurers cannot afford to take their eyes off the personal lines market.

The Covid-19 crisis has changed the world as we know it, and it is also changing the way consumers think and the way they interact with their insurers.

The uncertainty that has become part of day-to-day life since the outbreak began means that many consumers are demanding increased flexibility from the services they buy.

Telematics, for example, is becoming increasingly popular in the motor market after the government’s lockdown restrictions revealed the benefits of having a policy that can respond to the number of miles being driven.

This flexibility also allows insurers to increase the number of touchpoints they have with their customers, which, if handled correctly, can improve customer service levels and boost loyalty.

But although consumers and insurers would both benefit from a closer relationship, there are still barriers insurers will face in making that happen.

New research from Consumer Intelligence has found that less than half of motor and home insurance customers are comfortable sharing data with their insurer.

In fact, the survey found that consumers were more comfortable sharing their data with banks, and only slightly less comfortable sharing their data with the government.

What did stand out, however, was just how polarised insurance customers have become, with more than a third (34%) saying there was nothing that insurers could offer them to make them more willing to share their data.

This means that consumers are quickly forming into two groups, the ‘dataphobes’ who are totally unwilling to share their data, and those consumers who know the value of what they have to offer and are willing to share their data for something in return.

So in order to thrive in the post-coronavirus world, personal lines insurers will need to work out how to work with both sets of consumers, finding the best risks from each group, and tailoring policies for those consumers who are beginning to demand flexibility from their insurance provider.