New Delhi, Oct 23, 2026: From initial research to purchase decision, nearly 80% of the insurance journey in India now unfolds online, with consumers relying on search and video to evaluate policies before contacting an agent. According to a new study by Google, with McKinsey & Company as knowledge partner, this digital deliberation directly influences 40% of all health and life insurance sales.
Titled ‘Decoding the DICA Consumer’, the study identifies a fast-growing demographic: Digitally Influenced, Closed with Assistance (DICA) buyers. These consumers are digitally native, doing their research & prioritisation online and then deliberately seek out advisors to validate their choices.
Commenting on the findings, Siddharth Shekar, Director, Google India, said, “The DICA consumer highlights that purchasing insurance in India is an intricate journey where no single touchpoint or advisor operates in isolation. When the digital ecosystem directly influences more than 40% of all insurance purchases the online shortlist becomes an important decisive factor. Closing the gap between a consumer’s digital evaluation and their offline advisory experience is now the biggest lever for insurance penetration and value creation.”
Key findings
Non-metros and salaried professionals lead active pre-purchase research
Digital pre-purchase research is no longer confined to young, metro-based early adopters. Consumers in top non-metro cities conduct roughly twice as much online research before buying a policy compared to the national average. Across occupations, salaried professionals aged 25–35 represent the single largest demographic driving this digital deliberation, showing the highest engagement with comparison tools and policy explainers across all age groups.
AI and video content help address nuanced queries
Consumers are turning to AI-powered search to understand complicated insurance terms, moving from casual browsing to clear, informed shortlists. Long queries now account for 18% of insurance searches on Google3, with 41% of users using AI Overviews to compare options and firm up their coverage requirements upfront.
1In India, long queries in insurance category now account for 18% of category search volume, expanding faster than short queries’, Google Internal Data, July 2026
2Insurance-related content gathered over 2.5B views in the last 12 months in India, YouTube Internal Data, July 2025 – June 2026) 3In India, long queries in insurance category now account for 18% of category search volume, expanding faster than short queries’, Google Internal Data, July 2026
Video has also become a go-to format for breaking down complexities: approximately 60% of online insurance researchers use video during their journey. This behavior has driven insurance-related views on YouTube past 2.5 billion over the past year4. Over 15% of these views happen on YouTube Connected TV, turning insurance research into a shared household discussion5. Simultaneously, insurance mobile apps are seeing higher day-to-day engagement for ongoing policy tracking and claims management.
Online shortlists anchor final purchase decisions
In a market of over 60 insurers, 78% of consumers narrow their evaluation to just two or three brands online before speaking to an advisor. This fundamentally shifts the dynamics of offline sales: over 50% of consumers stand by their original digital shortlist after speaking with an agent, effectively pre-locking their brand conviction. Well-researched buyers increasingly seek targeted guidance rather than broad introductions; they enter consultations looking for advisors to evaluate their findings, clarify fine print, and assure service continuity.
Buyers seek human reassurance to finalise, but face disconnected handoffs Despite conducting most research online, fewer than 30% of buyers are comfortable purchasing high-value policies through a purely digital checkout. Consumers turn to advisors primarily to confirm long-term capital safety, secure human advocacy during hospital claims, and clarify exclusions. However, this handoff introduces friction: over 40% of buyers express frustration at starting over as anonymous leads and having to repeat their requirements, while more than a third cite generic sales scripts that fail to reflect context.
This shift presents a dual imperative for insurers: establishing strong early visibility where buyers define their options, while bridging internal silos so field agency networks are equipped to pick up seamlessly from an applicant’s initial digital inquiries. For insurers, connecting digital research to offline sales delivers clear commercial benefits. The report reveals that digitally informed buyers are significantly higher-value customers: offline purchases influenced by online research generate ~40% higher policy premiums compared to traditional sales.
Industry Perspectives:
Parthanil Ghosh, Managing Director and CEO, HDFC ERGO General Insurance, said, “The emergence of the DICA consumers will boost awareness and accessibility in the insurance sector. For insurers, enabling this journey seamlessly across their omnichannel distribution network like advisors, websites, mobile apps and other digital platforms, can help in building consumer confidence and trust, and thereby increase insurance penetration in India.”
Sumit Madan, Managing Director and CEO, Axis Max Life Insurance, said, “The future of insurance distribution will not be defined by where customers buy, but by how effectively we connect digital discovery with trusted advice. When more than 40% of policies are already digitally influenced, the industry’s next growth opportunity lies in converting informed intent into meaningful protection.”
4Insurance-related content gathered over 2.5B views in the last 12 months in India, YouTube Internal Data, July 2025 – June 20265In India, Connected TV accounted for more than 15% of total YouTube views for insurance-related content over the 12-month period from July 2025 through June 2026, YouTube Internal Data, 2026
Access the full report here.
Methodology
Findings are based on a triangulated research model combining a survey of 1,039 insurance consumers, aggregated and masked lead-to-conversion analysis across life and health insurers, in-depth interviews with industry advisors and distribution platforms, and Google and McKinsey insights.
About Google: Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.
