Despite their size and potential, mass market consumers often get overlooked in favor of high-net-worth (HNW), affluent, and mass affluent clients. In the race to gather assets, the real question is: Are financial institutions nurturing relationships with the right consumers?
The Great Wealth Transfer has already started shifting income brackets. An estimated $84 trillion in assets has begun to move from the Baby Boomer to the Gen X and Millennial generations. Building relationships with mass market Millennial and Gen X consumers now, before they transition to affluent or mass affluent status, is critical.
Early engagement with these groups can establish trust, laying the foundation for long-term relationships. By offering tailored education, digital tools, and insurance products, banks and credit unions can attract and retain these future wealth holders. A proactive approach positions financial institutions to benefit from the wealth transfer, while helping to grow market share as demographics change.
Why It Pays to Invest in Non-Affluent Consumers
It makes sense that HNW, affluent, and mass affluent consumers are top of mind for financial institutions. Though mass market consumers might not have the most assets they hold significant potential to positively impact a financial institution’s bottom line.
Even so, recent estimates show that revenue from mass market accounts is declining. This is likely linked to a major drop in overdraft fees, growing competition, and climbing fraud rates. “The implication is that traditional banks will need new products and marketing skills to capitalize upon these alternate sources of revenues,” data analytics and consulting firm Curinos states.*
Targeting mass market consumers with the right products can create a robust revenue stream, without sacrificing HNW and affluent relationships.
As we recently discovered in the research conducted by PYMNTS Intelligence, more than half of consumers want to purchase insurance products from their financial institution. Consumer interest increases among younger and higher-income groups. Offering Franklin Madison’s wide range of insurance products can cross socioeconomic divides as consumers seek out coverage for different purposes.
Curinos offers three strategies to effectively connect with these consumers:*
- Focus on lifetime value when acquiring new mass market consumers. Getting the right offer into the right hands now becomes highly important, Curinos says.* Partnering with a data-driven marketing partner when offering insurance products to mass market consumers can help you identify which subsegments provide the most lifetime value.
- Use digital personalization to reach responsive consumers. Personalization is a byproduct of data-directed marketing that ensures dollars are well-spent. Applying a data model to a digital or direct campaign can determine the ideal segment to send to. Personalization continues as a new consumer is onboarded and offered products and services.
- Aim to win all of a consumer’s business. Competition has raised the bar, and consumers typically anticipate seeing a full product suite. A PYMNTS and Treasury Prime survey found that credit union members expect roughly 11.6 products or services. Meeting consumers’ needs may involve regularly adding new in-demand products, like insurance.
Interested in increasing annual billable premiums by as much as 122 percent? Take a look at our results, and then contact us to have a conversation.
Beyond financial gains, supporting consumers at all socioeconomic levels can lead to broader social benefits. When financial institutions provide mass market consumers with the tools to achieve financial stability, they contribute to the health of the community. This not only enhances individual financial wellness but also stimulates economic activity on a larger scale.
Which Insurance Products Are Consumers Looking For?
According to the data, a large portion of consumers interested in AD&D (Accidental Death and Dismemberment) insurance is likely to be economically stable. As affluent and mass affluent consumers age, they may be more draw to lower cost supplemental policies like AD&D to mitigate financial risk. In fact, up to 20 percent of our consumers purchasing AD&D insurance are affluent.
Higher income consumers may purchase insurance products for reasons like:
- AD&D: AD&D products that offer additional family savings protection for family leave needs and education tuition payment.
- Auto Insurance: High-limit policies for multiple vehicles, often including luxury cars.
- Cyber Insurance: Protection of digital assets, guarding against cyber threats, identity theft, and data breaches.
- Disability Insurance: Both short-term and long-term disability plans to protect income.
- Homeowners Insurance: Comprehensive coverage for a high-value primary residence, as well as any additional properties.
- Life Insurance: Term, whole, and graded whole life policies with substantial coverage amounts.
- Umbrella Insurance: Additional liability coverage to protect against large claims and lawsuits.
Our internal data also shows that mass market consumers have an interest in products like recuperative care insurance and a hospital accident plan (HAP), potentially due to being less economically stable. Roughly 76 percent of consumers who purchase one insurance product from their financial institution say they would buy another. These numbers support it being worthwhile to nurture mass market segments.
The question then becomes, how do you start building relationships with consumers that beget the purchase of additional insurance? To get more consumers buying insurance, it begins with targeting the largest segment, mass market, followed by the second largest segment, mass affluent. Offering guaranteed issue products is the fastest way to build a base upon which more insurance products can be sold.
Lower to mid-income consumers may seek out insurance for:
- AD&D: Coverage for accidental death or injury, used to supplement limited savings.
- Auto Insurance: Standard policies to cover personal vehicles, often with options for liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage.
- Homeowners’ or Renters’ Insurance: Basic coverage for a home or rented apartment, including personal property and liability protection.
- Hospital Accident Plan: Offering cash benefits to cover costs associated with accidents that result in hospitalization.
- Life Insurance: Term life insurance policies to provide financial support if income from a primary earner is lost.
- Pet Insurance: Affordable plans to cover or minimize the cost of veterinary expenses.
- Recuperative Care: Paying out daily cash benefits in the event of covered hospitalizations.
Now is the time to look broader—by offering products that don’t cater to just one but multiple groups. Supplemental products like AD&D are wide-reaching, used by mass affluent for specific needs like savings protection and by mass market to offset a limited emergency fund. Serving different socioeconomic levels is a strategy to address the Great Wealth Transfer and secure a stronger revenue stream.
Here’s What Makes Franklin Madison Different
Powered by 50 years of industry expertise in direct insurance marketing, we actively serve over 3,000 financial institutions. We have insurance products that appeal to a wide variety of consumers at all socioeconomic levels and the data to identify the most responsive segments. Get in touch to find out how we can empower your organization.