Will Customers Turn To Big Tech?

Would people go to companies like Amazon, Facebook or Google for insurance? Zillow or Trulia for renters insurance? CVS for health insurance?

Since I got involved with ITL nearly 8 1/2 years ago, a vague threat has been hanging over the industry: that Big Tech would somehow invade and capture all the profits in much the way that Amazon did with retail commerce.

That obviously hasn’t happened -- but a recent survey shows that customers remain at least a little Big Tech-curious.

The survey of 1,500 consumers, by Breeze, found, for instance, that 55% of consumers would be inclined to buy a hypothetical insurance product from Amazon over traditional insurance carriers.

Fewer than half said they’d prefer Google or Facebook to traditional carriers -- but if the 46% who said they’d prefer Google and the 38% who said they’d prefer Facebook actually bought from a Big Tech company, then the whole industry would be turned upside-down.