Thirty-eight percent of technically savvy men ages 18 to 24 expressed an interest in identity theft insurance in 2004 as compared to 19 percent in 2003, a Vertis study released yesterday found.
The result was gleaned from the Baltimore-based company's Customer Focus 2005: Insurance study, which surveyed 2,000 adults in August and September 2004.
The study found that 25 percent of women age 25 to 34 and 23 percent of women age 18 to 24 expressed an interest in identity theft insurance. It also found that 15 percent of total adults would consider purchasing identity theft insurance.
Research from Gartner Inc. has estimated that Internet identity theft scams are costing banks and credit card companies more than $1.2 billion each year. Janice Mayo, senior vice president of marketing at Vertis, said smart marketers would use direct mail and the Internet to better promote identity theft insurance.
Though identity theft insurance has found an interest within the 18-to-24-year-old age group, the study also found increases of six to 10 percentage points in other insurance products.
Other findings:
· 77 percent of insurance direct mail readers with a household income of $50,000-$75,000 read life insurance direct mail.
· 53 percent of insurance direct mail readers with a household income of less than $30,000 responded to insurance direct mail by calling a toll-free number, visiting a Web site, meeting in person with an agent or via mail. This number has increased from 30 percent in 2002, the last time this question was asked.
· 46 percent of insurance direct mail readers with a household income of more than $75,000 responded to mail offers from an insurance company, compared to 24 percent in 2002.
· 31 percent of women ages 25 to 34 who read direct mail looked at offers from insurance companies, compared to 23 percent in 2002. Similarly, 24 percent of men in the same category read insurance direct mail, compared to 16 percent in 2002.
· 13 percent of women ages 50 to 64 said they would consider purchasing identity theft insurance, an increase from 6 percent in 2003.
· Of the adults interested in identity theft insurance products, 34 percent have an income of less than $30,000, while 18 percent have an income of $50,000 to $75,000.
Melissa Campanelli covers postal news, CRM and database marketing for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
