Although new parents represent a small segment of the total population, it is a transitional phase in peoples' lives. Transitions mean altered needs, and new parents are receptive to offers of new products. Many new parents soon become home movers, and by tracking home movers, utilities improve their retention rates and develop durable relationships with consumers as they move up the value chain.

Scope of this report

Explanation of the importance of targeting young families - a way of tracking home movers, and a way of targeting a segment with growth potential.
Insight into the issues affecting young families - mastery of which can equal commercial success for a utility.
Advice on tracking home movers - utilities can identify a sub-segment of families that will need to move house, and who therefore need to be watched.
Advice on tracking home movers - utilities can identify a sub-segment of families that will need to move house, and who therefore need to be watched.

Research and analysis highlights

There is a lack of family specific targeting many parents did not even know what this would involve on the part of a utility. This has positive and negative consequences: there will be little competition for the utility that does target families, but they will not know what to expect.

Simplicity is crucial but this can mean sending a bill every quarter and not a whisper more, or it can mean continuing a deeper customer relationship, but doing so flawlessly.

Parents become more risk averse, and this can be used by utilities to sell more home insurance services. But many people are cynical about these services because the perceive them to be 'rip-offs'. Utilities either need to be clearer about the value of these services, or market the same services, but charge the market price on a per-use basis.

Key reasons to read this report

Gain commercial advantage from an understanding of an important, segment of the customer base - one that has been overlooked by utilities so far.
Improve the way that home insurance products are marketed to the people who are most likely to buy them.
Discover simple ways to transform an existing product portfolio into a fresh tariff, by addressing the perceived needs of young families.

CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction
Market context: Research methodology; Key findings
Consumer insight: Key findings
Targeting home movers: Key findings
Action points

CHAPTER 2 INTRODUCTION

Who is the target reader?
How to use this report

CHAPTER 3 MARKET CONTEXT

Introduction
Key findings
What is a young family?
Market size

CHAPTER 4 CONSUMER INSIGHT

Introduction
Key findings
Key factors influencing the market
The consumer trends
Take up rates of home insurance services

CHAPTER 5 TARGETING HOME MOVERS

Introduction
Key findings
Why does the home-mover matter?
The home-mover: a danger or an opportunity?
Tracking the home mover
Action points

CHAPTER 6 ACTION POINTS

Why should I care about young families - home moves
Targeting young families
Tracking young families
How to design a family tariff

CHAPTER 7 APPENDIX

Supplementary data
Research methodology
Do you need further information?
Energy writing team
How to contact experts in your industry

List of Tables

Table 1: Number of young families (with a single child under 2), 1996-2001, by country
Table 2: Percentage of households that are young families - it is under 2% in each country, so this is a small segment, but important nonetheless
Table 3: Reported likely take up rates for Electrical wiring insurance - in every country, people become more likely to buy the service when they become parents
Table 4: Reported likely take up rates for boiler and heating insurance - Spain is the only country where people are less likely to take the service after they have children
Table 5: Reported likely take up rates for plumbing and drainage insurance - again, the best time to target them is after the birth of the first child
Table 6: Estimates of profits from a ten-year customer relationship, 2002
Table 7: Number of children under 2, by country, 1996-2001

List of Figures

Figure 1: Single parents may live on below average income, but couples with one child are better off than the average
Figure 2: 3 stages for a new family - target them at the beginning, profit at the end