Truthful or not: New consumer study reveals 51% of insurance shoppers don’t disclose correct information

SAN FRANCISCO – Fifty-one percent of consumers provide false information either intentionally or by accident when shopping for an auto insurance quote online.

This according to a new report released March 22 by digital comparison marketplace CoverHound analyzing proprietary data to better understand the behavior of auto insurance shoppers.

“It’s essential for people to comparison shop for the right coverage, and understand how they can get accurate insurance rates,” said Keith Moore, chief executive officer of CoverHound. “Many insurance shoppers don’t know how important it is for them to provide accurate and complete information. That’s why their initial insurance quotes are often not the final policy premiums.”

Here’s a summary of the key findings from the CoverHound survey:

• People didn’t disclose accurate info. Surprisingly, CoverHound found that 51% of quoted insurance shoppers provided inaccurate information either by accident or intentionally. Many shoppers requested a quote without providing correct information or forgot to include some important information to carriers. This could be due to omissions or misrepresentations of information.
• Baby Boomers were more accurate than Millennials. Millennials provided inaccurate information by accident or intentionally 6% more than their older, Baby Boomer counter parts. (See graphic below)
• Homeowners were more accurate than renters. When comparing these shoppers, renters are 4% more likely to omit or provide inaccurate information versus homeowners.
• Uninsured were more accurate than insured drivers. Comparing shoppers self-reported as “currently insured” and “uninsured,” the “currently insured” shoppers are 5% more likely to omit or provide inaccurate information either intentionally or by accident. This may be due to shoppers misrepresenting or misunderstanding their “currently insured” status. For example, a consumer who was insured for six months but had no coverage for the past 20 days will unlikely receive the best insurance rate available for currently insured shoppers.
• High- and low-risk shoppers were equal. The report found only a small difference between lower- and higher-risk shoppers. Compared to lower-risk shoppers, only 2% more of the higher-risk shoppers omitted or provided inaccurate information either intentionally or by accident.
• Men and women were also the same. Nearly the same percent of male and female shoppers omitted or provided inaccurate information either intentionally or by accident.