Bruchsal 02.06.2015
GfK Financial Market Services
Investment and insurance behavior varies with household wealth
GfK has released the study GfK Financial Market Services 2015, which includes 25 variables on the insurance- and investment-related behavior of Germany's households. The data allows insurance companies and banks to determine the regional potential for the sale of financial services.
There is only minor regional variation in the share of Germany's households with private liability insurance, household insurance and automobile liability insurance policies. However, among the 25 financial services and insurance products evaluated by the study, these are also the most commonly chosen financial products by Germany's households. For example, more than 75 percent of all German households have a private liability, household or automobile liability insurance policy.
At the other end of the spectrum are financial products chosen by only a very limited number of German households. For example, only around one in every nine households invests in savings bonds, and fewer than ten percent of all households have fixed-interest bonds or unit-linked life insurance policies. There is significant regional variation in the households with these policies.
Just one in six households in Germany has a brokerage account. However, this share varies substantially from region to region. While more than 30 percent of households have brokerage accounts in the urban district of Munich, the rural district of Starnberg and in Hochtaunuskreis, fewer than one in ten households has this kind of account in some rural districts in eastern Germany. Last place in this regard is the rural district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, where only eight percent of households have a brokerage account. This amounts to only 45 percent of the national average.
Purchasing power plays important role in investments and insurance policies There is a correlation between the regional purchasing power potential and the number of households with certain financial products, such as brokerage accounts, credit cards, short-term investments and private full-coverage and supplementary health insurance policies. For example, high-purchasing power areas in southern Germany and the Rhine-Main region have a significantly higher share of credit cards than in weaker purchasing power areas such as eastern Germany.
A comparison of the regional provision of financial products with purchasing power shows that areas with lower purchasing power take out installment credits significantly more frequently.
"Affluence is an influencing factor in the propensity of German households to select certain financial products and services," explains Simone Baecker-Neuchl, head of market data & research in GfK's Geomarketing solution area. "For example, the share of households that takes out a private accident insurance policy is lower in regions with higher purchasing power. Those with greater wealth have a more relaxed attitude toward the prospect of accident-related financial losses."
About the study
GfK Financial Market Services is calculated by market data experts in GfK's Geomarketing solution area. The regionalized data on potential for 2015 is available at the level of Germany's federal states, districts, municipalities, postcodes and street segments. GfK Financial Market Services 2015 reveals the regional distribution of 25 financial services and insurance products. Entries for each variable are provided in absolute, percentage and index values (Germany = 100).
The data set encompasses the following 25 financial services and insurance products:
- cash-value life insurance
- term life insurance
- unit-linked life insurance
- private pension insurance
- private accident insurance
- private full-coverage health insurance
- private supplementary health insurance
- occupational disability insurance
- private liability insurance
- household insurance
- legal costs insurance
- residential building insurance
- automobile liability insurance
- partial collision coverage automobile policy
- full collision coverage automobile policy
- building loan contracts
- mortgages
- installment credit
- premium savings accounts
- savings bonds
- short-term investments
- fixed-interest bonds
- brokerage accounts
- fund products
- credit card possession
The basis of the calculation are continually performed analyses of the German population's insurance and investment behavior by the GfK Financial Market Services Panel. These analyses span almost the entire product range of the financial services and insurance sectors. GfK determines the regional potential for these products. This data is supplemented by GfK's financial market consultancy services, which range from catchment area analysis and branch network optimization to location evaluation and sales and marketing planning.
The regional data on financial market services offers financial institutions such as large insurance companies an objective benchmark for regionally tailoring customer communications and estimating market exploitation.
Additional information on GfK Financial Market Services can be found at www.gfk-geomarketing.com/financial_market.
Print-quality illustrations can be found here.
About GfK
GfK is the trusted source of relevant market and consumer information that enables its clients to make smarter decisions. More than 13,000 market research experts combine their passion with GfK’s long-standing data science experience. This allows GfK to deliver vital global insights matched with local market intelligence from more than 100 countries. By using innovative technologies and data sciences, GfK turns big data into smart data, enabling its clients to improve their competitive edge and enrich consumers' experiences and choices.
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GfK GeoMarketing GmbH
Public Relations
Cornelia Lichtner
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Gebäude 6508
76646 Bruchsal; Germany
T+49 7251 9295 100
cornelia.lichtner(at)gfk.com