Adding value to insurance products: the AXA Irish experience

Abstract

Purpose

While competition within car and home insurance increases through more players and also unfamiliar entrants to the market (supermarkets), the purpose of this paper is to report on a study of one large insurer in Ireland which attempts to differentiate itself from its peers.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper does this through a literature review of the insurance market and customer relationship management, and a detailed study of the company loyalty programme and its application to its customers.

Findings

The loyalty programme employed suits the particular sector in terms of purchase intention and also gives the customer of the insurance brand a sense of belonging and relevance where they can avail themselves of savings on related products.

Research limitations/implications

Information sourced is based on published data from the company and other peer reviewed journals. This is a study on a simple loyalty programme that can be applied to low frequency purchases.

Practical implications

This simplified loyalty programme gives the brand high recognition values in terms of how the brand is made relevant to the customer through discounted related products.

Originality/value

As loyalty programmes are not a usual feature of financial services, this paper highlights a unique programme in operation that is being replicated elsewhere.

Citation

Brophy, R. (2013), "Adding value to insurance products: the AXA Irish experience", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 293-299. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-09-2012-0183