Millennials are aging, and that may be good news for property/casualty insurers.

Here’s why: Millennials appear to have a stronger affinity for insurance companies than their Gen X or baby boomer counterparts, according to The Harris Poll’s 29^th annual EquiTrend Study, which measures brand health over time.

The Harris Poll study found that millennials had a stronger emotional connection, shared values and fit to both property/casualty and life insurance companies. As well, millennials are much more likely to recommend their most valued insurance companies versus other generations.

Their support helped make AAA Home & Auto Insurance the property/casualty insurance brand of the year, followed by USAA, State Farm, American Family, Farmers and The Hartford, according to the Harris Poll.

Joan Sinopoli, vice president of brand solutions at The Harris Poll, said that the upswing from millennials stems from the fact that they’re getting older and taking jobs and their home and health insurance more seriously than they did at a younger age.

“Now a bit older and entering new life stages, millennials have more to protect and realize that employer-supplied insurance may not be enough,” Sinopoli said. “Leading insurance companies have taken note; several companies have adapted their marketing campaigns to cater to this important millennial customer.”

The generational contrast is striking. About 43 percent of millennials said they felt an emotional connection to a property/casualty insurance brand versus 33 percent for Gen X and 26 percent for baby boomers. About 33 percent of millennials said their P/C brand fit them, while 21 percent of Gen X respondents and 18 percent of baby boomers felt the same way.

There’s also this: 38 percent of millennials said their P/C carrier had shared values, but 27 percent and 24 percent of Gen X and baby boomer respondents, respectively, felt the same way.

Millennials gave their insurance brands (P/C and life combined) a brand equity rating of 60 versus 55 among consumers overall.

The study compared brand health of more than 4,000 brands in multiple industries in more than 450 categories, over time and against key competitors. The U.S. study surveyed more than 97,000 consumers ages 15 and older, both users and non-users.

Source: The Harris Poll