Targeting the Over-50s with Life Insurance

Powered by

All the vital news, analysis, and commentary curated by our industry experts.

The UK’s over-50s population is growing, which means the customer segment is a growing opportunity for insurance providers. Those over 50 are often treated and targeted as one segment, but the market is highly diverse, and a “one size fits all” strategy should be avoided. Individual lifestyles differ due to a number of factors such as whether individuals are retired, whether they have dependent children living at home, their health, and their financial freedom. Acknowledging this should encourage a move away from targeting the singular “over 50s” segment towards focusing on the different life stages associated with growing older. This is important because differences in lifestyle mean the insurance needs of individuals also differ. Insurance providers must acknowledge and use this to develop their products and services to make them more relevant to consumers.

“Targeting the Over-50s with Life Insurance” explores the over-50s demographic and segments the age group into five distinct life stages. This spans those who have dependent children in education to those over 70 who are declining in health. The insurance needs and values of each life stage are highlighted and discussed, along with the opportunities each life stage provides insurers and how best to target them. The report discusses the main competitors within the over-50s segment and analyzes their approach to targeting customers.

Scope

– Individuals with dependent children, partners, or parents require life insurance. 16.5% of over-50s have a child under 18, while 28.9% of parents over 50 have an adult child still living at home. Income protection and a policy linked to a mortgage are relevant for these individuals who are looking to financially protect their family. They may also look into long-term social care for dependent parents.

– 57.0% of the over-50s UK population is economically inactive, which is driven by those aged over 65. Retired individuals are less dependent upon working for income and less likely to have a mortgage but will still have dependents in need of financial protection. These customers will be looking into retirement and investment planning, seeing how they can pass on their assets to their children.

Reasons to Buy

– Gain a better understanding of the diversity of customers within the over-50s segment.

– Understand the differing values, behavior, and insurance needs of customers aged over 50.

– Improve customer engagement by recognizing what is most important to over-50s customers based on their life stage and how insurers can adapt their products and services to meet their needs.

– Understand how the over-50s segment should be approached with regards to marketing and advertising.

– Discover the top providers within the over-50s market.

Legal & General
Aviva
Saga
LV=
Scottish Widows
SunLife
FriendsLife
Old Mutual
Royal London
AXA PPP
Aegon
AIG
ESMI
Zurich
Paymentshield

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1. Diversity within the over-50s needs to be acknowledged

1.2. Key findings

1.3. Critical success factors

2 THE OVER-50S SEGMENT IN THE UK

2.1. Introduction

2.2. The UK's over-50s population is a growing opportunity

2.2.1. The over-50s form an increasing share of the UK adult population

2.2.2. The over-50s segment will continue to grow towards 2025

2.2.3. Adults are living longer and are in better health

2.2.4. Over-50s make up two thirds of the disabled population in the UK

2.2.5. The over-50s market is skewed towards women due to their longer life expectancy

2.2.6. Most over-50s are married, but there is a shift towards becoming widowed with age

2.2.7. One in five adults aged over 45 lives alone

2.2.8. Over-50s may still have dependents as a result of having children later

2.2.9. The majority of over-50s have adult children aged over 19

2.2.10. Almost 70% of UK household wealth is held by over-50s

2.2.11. Most over-65s are economically inactive, whereas 50-64s are still in employment

2.2.12. Outright home ownership increases with age as mortgages are paid off over time

2.3. Lifestyles

2.3.1. The diversity within the over-50s market needs to be acknowledged

2.3.2. The lifestyle of an individual is a combined outcome of three factors

2.3.3. Sizing life stage segments within the over-50s population

2.3.4. Societal changes mean the ages life stages are associated with are shifting

3 TARGETING OVER-50S WITH LIFE INSURANCE

3.1. The key to successful targeting is to understand the customer

3.1.1. There are three elements that need to be aligned to target a consumer group

3.1.2. Individuals over-50 with dependent children still identify with the mass market

3.1.3. A subtle marketing approach is needed for individuals with adult children at home

3.1.4. Early retirees are more focused on retirement and inheritance planning

3.1.5. Late retirees begin to identify with being labeled as over-50s customers

3.1.6. Declining health should not dominate the identity of an individual

3.2. Marketing needs to move away from age towards life stage

3.2.1. Individuals take out life insurance policies when there is a lifestyle trigger

3.2.2. Life insurers need to increase product penetration to gain customers

3.2.3. Providers need to develop more flexible products

3.2.4. Retirees are just as in need of life insurance as an individual with a family

3.2.5. The life insurance needs of customers change over time

3.2.6. Moving away from the over-50s label

3.2.7. Marketing strategies should represent older customers positively

3.2.8. Older customers should be a focus for advertising

3.2.9. Wearables and technology

4 A RANGE OF INSURANCE PROVIDERS TARGET OVER-50S

4.1. Life is the most visible "over-50s" product in insurance

4.1.1. There are many approaches insurance providers take to target the over-50s market

4.1.2. Legal & General's over-50s life insurance policy is highly focused on end of life

4.1.3. Aviva keeps its over-50s life insurance product description customer neutral

4.1.4. Scottish Widows Protect allows customers to adapt their policy as their needs change

4.1.5. LV= is advertising its 50 Plus Plan through a TV campaign in 2017

4.1.6. Saga exclusively targets customers aged over 50 across its whole portfolio

4.1.7. The transition to over-50s products does not happen overnight

4.1.8. Aviva and Legal & General are the leading providers of whole of life policies

4.1.9. Legal & General and Aviva top the market for term assurance cover

4.1.10. Aviva and Legal & General are also the favored providers for income protection

4.1.11. Conclusion

5 APPENDIX

5.1. Definitions

5.1.1. Banks/building societies

5.1.2. Brokers

5.1.3. Direct

5.2. Methodology

5.2.1. Primary and secondary research

5.2.2. GlobalData's 2016 UK General Insurance Consumer Survey

5.2.3. GlobalData's 2016 UK Life Insurance Consumer Survey

5.3. Bibliography

5.4. Further reading

Figures

Figure 1: 47.6% of the UK adult population will be aged 50 or above by 2025

Figure 2: The UK population is living longer and is in better health

Figure 3: 35.6% of over-50s have a disability, with most being over the age of 80

Figure 4: The over-50s market, especially those over 70, is skewed towards women

Figure 5: There is a shift from being married to being widowed in line with age

Figure 6: 48.0% of females aged over 75 in the UK live alone

Figure 7: Women are deciding to have children later in life

Figure 8: 6.6% of young adults aged 15-34 lived with their parents in 2015

Figure 9: 94.0% of adults over 50 have children, the majority of whom are aged over 19

Figure 10: The proportion of over-50s with children under 18 falls with age

Figure 11: There is a clear shift from employment to retirement after 65

Figure 12: The majority of over-65s own their homes outright without a mortgage

Figure 13: Life stages of the over-50s

Figure 14: The declining health segment accounts for over a third of the over-50s population

Figure 15: There is a clear correlation between life stage and age band within the over-50s segment

Figure 16: Legal & General's over-50s policy focuses on end of life

Figure 17: Scottish Widows' Protect For Life policy has three cover options

Figure 18: LV= offers five life insurance policy types

Figure 19: In 2017, LV= has dedicated a TV marketing campaign to its 50 Plus Plan

Figure 20: Aviva has a higher affinity among customers aged between 50 and 64

Figure 21: Legal & General holds a 20.9% provider share for term assurance

Figure 22: One in five over-50s with an income protection policy are with Aviva

Frequently asked questions

Targeting the Over-50s with Life Insurance thematic reports
Currency USD
$3,450

Can be used by individual purchaser only

$10,350

Can be shared globally by unlimited users within the purchasing corporation e.g. all employees of a single company


Undecided about purchasing this report?

Enquire Before Buying Request a Free Sample

Get in touch to find out about multi-purchase discounts

reportstore@globaldata.com
Tel +44 20 7947 2745

Every customer’s requirement is unique. With over 220,000 construction projects tracked, we can create a tailored dataset for you based on the types of projects you are looking for. Please get in touch with your specific requirements and we can send you a quote.

Sample Report

Targeting the Over-50s with Life Insurance was curated by the best experts in the industry and we are confident about its unique quality. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer free sample pages to help you:

  • Assess the relevance of the report
  • Evaluate the quality of the report
  • Justify the cost

Download your copy of the sample report and make an informed decision about whether the full report will provide you with the insights and information you need.

Below is a sample report to understand what you are buying

See what our customers are saying

“The GlobalData platform is our go-to tool for intelligence services. GlobalData provides an easy way to access comprehensive intelligence data around multiple sectors, which essentially makes it a one-for-all intelligence platform, for tendering and approaching customers.

GlobalData is very customer orientated, with a high degree of personalised services, which benefits everyday use. The highly detailed project intelligence and forecast reports can be utilised across multiple departments and workflow scopes, from operational to strategic level, and often support strategic decisions. GlobalData Analytics and visualisation solutions has contributed positively when preparing management presentations and strategic papers.”

Business Intelligence & Marketing Manager, SAL Heavy Lift

“COVID-19 has caused significant interference to our business and the COVID-19 intelligence from GlobalData has helped us reach better decisions around strategy. These two highlights have helped enormously to understand the projections into the future concerning our business units, we also utilise the project database to source new projects for Liebherr-Werk to use as an additional source to pitch for new business.”

Market Analyst & Management, Liebherr-Werk

Your daily news has saved me a lot of time and keeps me up-to-date with what is happening in the market, I like that you almost always have a link to the source origin. We also use your market data in our Strategic Business Process to support our business decisions. By having everything in one place on the Intelligence Center it has saved me a lot of time versus looking on different sources, the alert function also helps with this.

Head of Key Accounts, Saab AB

Having used several other market research companies, I find that GlobalData manages to provide that ‘difficult-to-get’ market data that others can’t, as well as very diverse and complete consumer surveys.

Marketing Intelligence Manager, Portugal Foods

Our experience with GlobalData has been very good, from the platform itself to the people. I find that the analysts and the account team have a high level of customer focus and responsiveness and therefore I can always rely on. The platform is more holistic than other providers. It is convenient and almost like a one stop shop. The pricing suite is highly competitive and value for our organisation.

I like reports that inform new segments such as the analysis on generation Z, millennials, the impact of COVID 19 to our banking customers and their new channel habits. Secondly the specialist insight on affluent sector significantly increases our understanding about this group of customers. The combination of those give us depth and breadth of the evolving market.

I’m in the business of answering and helping people make decisions so with the intelligence center I can do that, effectively and efficiently. I can share quickly key insights that answer and satisfy our country stakeholders by giving them many quality studies and primary research about competitive landscape beyond the outlook of our bank. It helps me be seen as an advisory partner and that makes a big difference. A big benefit of our subscription is that no one holds the whole data and because it allows so many people, so many different parts of our organisation have access, it enables all teams to have the same level of knowledge and decision support.

Head of Customer Insight and Research, Standard Chartered

“I know that I can always rely on Globaldata’s work when I’m searching for the right consumer and market insights. I use Globaldata insights to understand the changing market & consumer landscape and help create better taste & wellbeing solutions for our customers in food, beverage and healthcare industries.

Globaldata has the right data and the reports are of very high quality compared to your competitors. Globaldata not only has overall market sizes & consumer insights on food & beverages but also provides insights at the ingredient & flavour level. That is key for B2B companies like Givaudan. This way we understand our customers’ business and also gain insight to our unique industry”

Head of Consumer Sensory Insights, Givaudan

GlobalData provides a great range of information and reports on various sectors that is highly relevant, timely, easy to access and utilise.  The reports and data dashboards help engagement with clients; they provide valuable industry and market insights that can enrich client conversations and can help in the shaping of value propositions. Moreover, using GlobalData products has helped increase my knowledge of the finance sector, the players within it, and the general threats and opportunities.

I find the consumer surveys that are carried out to be extremely beneficial and not something I have seen anywhere else. They provided an insightful view of why and which consumers take (or don’t) particular financial products. This can help shape conversations with clients to ensure they make the right strategic decisions for their business.

One of the challenges I have found is that data in the payments space is often piecemeal. With GD all of the data I need is in one place, but it also comes with additional market reports that provide useful extra context and information. Having the ability to set-up alerts on relevant movements in the industry, be it competitors or customers, and have them emailed directly to me, ensures I get early sight of industry activity and don’t have to search for news.

Senior Account Manager, TSYS
Go even deeper with GlobalData Intelligence Center

Every Company Report we produce is powered by the GlobalData Intelligence Center.

Subscribing to our intelligence platform means you can monitor developments at Targeting the Over-50s with Life Insurance in real time.

  • Access a live Targeting the Over-50s with Life Insurance dashboard for 12 months, with up-to-the-minute insights.
  • Fuel your decision making with real-time deal coverage and media activity.
  • Turn insights on financials, deals, products and pipelines into powerful agents of commercial advantage.