20 Surprising Insurance Trends Revealed By Google Data

Biggest relative change in market share of internet searches for insurance

1. Travel Insurance Volunteering Abroad +4,391%
2. Veteran Horse Insurance +2,595%
3. Temporary Day Car Insurance +2,216%
4. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Insurance +2,152%
5. Impounded Car Insurance +1,987%

Comment: The growth in searches for Volunteering Travel Insurance may be a reflection of both millennials' search for meaning and poor employment prospects for new graduates in the UK driving a rise in gap years. But the burning question of the moment must be this: does Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Insurance cover spontaneous combustion?

Biggest absolute change in market share of internet searches for insurance (basis points)

1. Gap Insurance +70bps
2. Private Health Insurance +39bps
3. Multi Car Insurance +38bps
4. Learner Insurance +36bps
5. Caravan Insurance +26bps

Comment: These movements speak to the anxieties of Brexit Britian. We are not getting an extra £350m a week for the NHS, so those who can afford it had better think about private health insurance. With the pound in free fall, UK-based caravan holidays are increasingly appealing (from a financial perspective at least). And it's easy to empathise with bearishness among new car buyers driving a resurgence in demand for Gap Insurance.

Biggest relative change in market share of internet searches for insurance

1. Geoffrey Insurance +7,186%
2. Puffin Insurance +6,661%
3. Mustard Insurance +4,542%
4. Taurus Insurance +2,804%
5. Asda Money Travel Insurance +2,737%

Comment: Geoffrey is the imaginative new name for the Canterbury-based motor insurance company formerly known as Chaucer. Puffin is a new travel insurance brand from the Insurance Facilities Group. Mustard is a back-to-the-future car insurance comparison service which you can use over the phone. Taurus is best known for its gadget insurance, Switched On.

Biggest absolute change in market share of internet searches for insurance (basis points)

1. Go Compare Car Insurance +645bps
2. Compare The Market Car Insurance +239bps
3. Direct Line Car Insurance +210bps
4. LV Car Insurance +167bps
5. Confused.com Car Insurance +119bps

Comment: Rumours of the death of price comparison appear to have been greatly exaggerated. The renaissance of Gio Compario seems to be working wonders for Go Compare (I wrote about the decline in Go Compare brand awareness when the moustachioed tenor was dropped in 2014). Similarly, Meerkat Movies has boosted brand search for Compare The Market. But insurers have also invested heavily in above-the-line brand campaigns - Direct Line's appropriation of Winston Wolfe being a prime example.