Social media-savvy young people could represent an emerging market for online risk insurance cover, according to research conducted by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).
A survey of 2,000 consumers showed that the Generation Y (people born from the early 80s and onwards) element of the UK population is more conscious of the inherent risks associated with using social media than its Baby Boomer (people born before the early 60s) and Generation X (those born between the early 60s and the early 80s) counterparts.
The biggest concern to younger internet users is the ability to control the commercial use of their name, image or other aspects of their identity, and 56% expressed an interest in protecting personal image rights through insurance cover.
This is compared to just 23% of those aged 55 and above who said they would purchase social media insurance to control publicity rights.
Damage limitation in the event of a social networking account being hacked or parodied by a third party scored similarly highly among 18 to 24 year-olds, with 26% stating they would consider social media insurance to safeguard their reputation.
In the eldest age bracket, just 5% of respondents expressed an interest in buying a similar product.
Legal expenses
A generation gap exists also in relation to buying insurance to cover legal fees arising from online incidents.
Almost one in five 18 to 24 year-olds questioned said they would be interested in this type of cover for divorce hearings following revelations from social media, while 18% would consider insuring against such revelations leading to job loss versus just 2% and 3% respectively of respondents aged 55 plus.
However, the CII’s research revealed a lack of knowledge across all age groups when it came to the question of how location-based updates on social media sites could affect contents insurance.
Between 80% and 82% of respondents of all ages were unaware if posting such information, which could potentially alert burglars to the fact that a house is unoccupied, would make their insurance void.
David Williams, chair of the CII’s Underwriting Faculty, commented: “There’s a growing awareness of the dangers of posting the wrong kinds of information on social networking sites, which relate not only to potential financial exposure but also to reputational harm, and with it we’re seeing an appetite for social media insurance from savvy young consumers.
“Although this constitutes only a potential new market at present, it’s not unlikely that this type of cover would form an important part of businesses and individuals’ insurance portfolios in the future.”
For all the latest industry news direct to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
