There are an increasing number of insurers who are actively marketing and selling insurance online. It is to be expected that many clients will, in the effort to reduce the costs of insurance premiums, try to do more on their own – and the online insurance platforms from direct insurers allow them to do exactly that!
By cutting out the middleman and broker commissions these clients are able to reduce the cost of insurance! A new generation of client is entering the insurance industry – and these younger clients have grown up with the internet and are comfortable with purchasing financial and other products online!
But how easy is it REALLY to purchase insurance online? What can the consumer expect when he calls a direct insurer and what does he need to know?
I approached well known and leading South African direct Insurer OUTsurance to answer a few questions:
How much of the process can be done online - and how much would have to be done over the telephone?
All insurance quotes are completed over the phone. Our advisors are FAIS accredited and will fully explain the benefits and features of this (financial) product to the client. Clients are most welcome to visit our website to request a quote online – we will make sure to give them a call to provide them with an insurance quote that will best suit their individual insurance requirements.
If I only need to insure one average [no special needs] vehicle - how long should this process “on average” take?
If you have all your personal and vehicle details at hand, it should take around 10-15 minutes to complete your quote.
Will I be addressed in my own language/ Can I request this?
Our business language is English and all our advisors are fully proficient in the language. Clients may request to be addressed in their language of choice and if we have advisors who speak the language we will obviously oblige. We will however confirm specific information in English to ensure that the requirements are correctly stated and clarified.
How many languages does the company offer to address my needs?
As above.
How many phone calls would it take before I can rest assured that I am insured?
One only. Once you’ve accepted an OUTsurance quote, you are insured with immediate effect.
Will I be talking to the same person or to several persons assisting me?
Although all of our advisors can help you at any time during the sales/claims processes – you will only speak to one sales advisor during the sales process and – should you need to submit a claim, you will be assigned a dedicated claims advisor who will take care of everything for you.
Are these calls recorded - and can I refer to something previously mentioned?
Absolutely. All calls are recorded and can easily be retrieved for reference purposes.
What is the average time of a phone call with the insurer? Am I paying for this or the insurer?
The duration of the phone call depends entirely on the reason for you calling. If you are calling to enquire about your facility, your call might take less than a minute. However, if you are calling to discuss or submit a claim, it will take longer. OUTsurance has a share call number where the cost of the call is split evenly between the client and ourselves with the client only paying for the cost of a local call. Remember that you can always ask us to call you back, which we will be more than happy to do.
What is the most important information to have at hand when insuring a vehicle online?
Please have your personal details (ID, contact and address information), the details of the vehicle (make, model, colour) you wish to insure and the personal and contact details of the person who will drive the vehicle most often, at hand.
What do the phone operators find is the information often neglected or not provided by the insured client?
This question does not apply, since our sales advisors will make sure that they have requested all the necessary information when speaking to the client over the phone.
Do you perhaps have a diagram or flow chart to indicate how the process flows in getting insurance from a direct insurer – from the moment of making the first call – to receiving the policy of car insurance?
At OUTsurance, the process is extremely simple and straightforward and the flow chart would only need to consist of two items: “Client needs insurance and calls OUTsurance” – “Client insured”.
