The phone still rules when it comes to buying life insurance, even as online sales record the fastest growth among channels, according to a Roy Morgan survey.

The number of online sales more than doubled to 349,000 in the year to November, compared with five years ago, growing market share to 10.1% from 4.6%.

Phone-related sales fell 1.3 points to a 24.7% share, but the channel remained buyers’ preferred choice. Buying through employers was second on 23.9%, up from 18.5%, and brokers ranked third on 10.8%, down from 15.9%.

“How life insurance is obtained is facing a major transformation or disruption, moving away from the more traditional insurance broker (or life insurance salesman) towards purchasing online, as well as moving more to the employer, where it is generally combined with superannuation,” Roy Morgan Industry Communications Director Norman Morris said.

The survey drew responses from more than 50,000 consumers.