Marketing life insurance advice to Gen Z and Gen Alphas requires the personal touch and as little on-boarding friction as possible, says Skye Wealth adviser Azaria Bell.
Speaking during the ‘Getting to know Gen Z and Gen Alpha’ session at CALI’s Wild for Life 2025 conference last month, Bell told the audience that 18 to 34-year-olds expect the same digital experience with insurers as they enjoy with their bank – to be able to log-in and make changes “…to self-serve”.
Attendees also heard this group prefers a direct relationships with advisers due to a level of miss-trust with big brands and corporations.
“It’s very easy for Gen Z and Alphas to build trust with an individual,” said Bell. “…especially with online influencers because they are independent from the brand.”
She told the story of a big insurer sponsoring a popular financial advice podcast that led to strong recognition.
“The insurer had their advert play before a financial advice podcast and I had clients asking for that firm to be included in any quotes I prepared for them,” she said.
“They trusted the insurer because it was endorsed by a person they’ve been watching in a podcast for a number of years.”
Session moderator, Jessica Ridley agreed, adding that Gen Z and Alpha are more likely to look for financial advice on social media before seeking out an adviser.
“If you have an influencer who has 500,000 followers, sometimes that is more influential than the social media accounts of insurance groups with a few thousand followers,” she said.
Bell, who fronted the Gen Z Money podcast, said those who follow influencers are loyal to them.
“Not to a dangerous degree,” she said. “But they do take on the values they are sharing and the education they are putting out there.
“They learn a lot about personal finance through influencers or content creators, and then they reach out to an adviser for more.”
Also on the panel was Darren Leonard, ALUCA Underwriting Chair and Acenda’s Northern Underwriting Manager.
He said it’s important insurance firms tailor education to the Gen Z and Alpha markets, and to engage with them on the social media platforms they use and trust.
“We have a real opportunity to champion advisers who partner with podcasters or influencers who have the ear of Gen Z and Gen Alphas to highlight the societal good our products are providing.
“When we are engaged we need to do it in a digital and seamless way.”
The key take-aways from this session of the conference are that when it comes to the under-35s, personal relationships and trust need to be established before new business can be written.
