A broken screen, a stolen bike, a festival you never made it to. For Generation Z, these are the risks that matter, and 95% of Romanians aged 16–23 say they would pay to feel protected against them, according to a Cult Research study conducted for Life is Hard (LIH) and recently presented at Technology Insurance Days (TID) 2026.
Top 5: what young people would insure
1. Phone, laptop and data: 45%
2. Scooter, bike or car-sharing car: 37%
3. Health, through flexible medical subscriptions: 27%
4. Protection in case of work incapacity: 17%
5. Reimbursement for a missed festival or trip: 16%
After the age of 22, priorities put mobility first (42%), followed by health (30%) and protecting freelance income (15%).
“The data does not describe a generation that avoids risk, but one that manages it in segments, around what matters in their lives and interests: communication, mobility, health. For Gen Z, the ideal insurance product is a flexible, short-term micro-insurance, bought from an app, but with a real person involved in the process,” says Raul Aștefanei, Vice President responsible for tech product development for the insurance industry at Life is Hard (LIH).
Pension? Only one in ten
Young people don’t spend everything. Data from InZights by Cult Research shows that 68% of them save. But the money does not go toward a pension: only 10% would consider a private pension or life insurance. They prefer to set money aside “for a rainy day” (54%) and, almost as often, for travel (51%).
“The results of the two studies presented at TID, the longitudinal InZights research and the Agile Omnibus Gen Z 2026, match what we have been observing for over three years in the InZights program: young people save, but hesitate to commit long term, because financial stability is the area of life they are least satisfied with,” says Paul Acatrini, Managing Partner at Cult Research.
Access to insurance: digital-first, human-on-call
Asked how they would like to interact with an insurer, young people don’t choose between an app and an agent:
• 33% want everything 100% digital, in an app;
• 29% prefer classic advice, directly from a broker or agent;
• 23% choose a hybrid model: they compare online and validate on chat or WhatsApp with a real person;
• 11% want insurance to be already included in the festival ticket, holiday or purchase.
Overall, 67% want to start digitally, but 52% want a real person somewhere in the process. The agent is the top choice for 16–18-year-olds (41%), while at 22–23 the app wins (39%, versus 22% for the agent).
About the study
• Gen Z and Insurance Omnibus: developed by Cult Research (www.cultresearch.ro) for Life is Hard (LIH), as a module of the InZights OMNIBUS. 401 young people aged 16–23 were surveyed online, nationwide, between 10 and 12 October 2026. The margin of error is ±4.8% at a 95% confidence level.
• InZights by Cult Research: a research program dedicated to Generation Z, running for over 5 years, with over 50 focus groups, over 100 in-depth interviews and 1,132 questionnaires.
About Life is Hard (LIH) and Technology Insurance Days
Life Is Hard SA (LIH) is the first Romanian software company listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), on the AeRO market, Premium segment, and has been part of the BET AeRO index since 2021.
LIH helps companies optimize and digitally transform their processes through advanced technology, and its portfolio includes the first tech ecosystem built for the insurance industry and the only independent one in Romania.
LIH is the organizer of Technology Insurance Days (TID), which for 10 years has been the meeting point for the relevant voices of this industry and works as a space for analyzing the needs and trends of the Romanian insurance market.
