In our previous article we discussed claims and how to avoid unnecessary delays during the claims process. The event that initiates the claims process is the actual lodging of the claim with your insurer. This brings us to the question asked in this next article in the series of How to choose an insurer — can you do it yourself?

One way of lodging a claim is to contact your broker or insurer directly by telephone to report the incident that resulted in your loss. A more convenient way to lodge a claim would be online. This convenience should extend to all scenarios where a client would interact with an insurer’s call centre.

The internet and insurance

With the imminent reduction in bandwidth costs during 2009 and the expected proliferation of broadband that will follow, more and more internet users will utilise online services including banking, shopping, recreation and education to name a few. Another obvious online service is insurance.

Why speak to a call centre agent or pay a broker to activate or amend your policy when you could just as easily do it yourself? Forward-thinking innovative insurers are already providing and improving these online services. When choosing your insurer you should at least be looking for some of the following attributes which permit you to complete insurance tasks online, at your convenience 24/7/365:

• Accurate and instant quoting is a must. Many insurers offer an approximate quote which can only be accurately underwritten by a call centre agent. Look for an insurer who not only provides an accurate quote, but also allows you to activate your insurance online.
• Choose an insurer which has a comprehensive set of online tools which allows you to amend any detail on your policy. DIY tasks should include the adding and removal of risks, updating personal and banking details and the viewing of documents online. Not only does this save on the cost of a phone call but you can do your tree-hugger bit by saving paper.
• Find an insurer that incentivises you to transact online. This may be an additional discount for quoting and applying online or for opting to receive all communication and relevant documentation via e-mail as opposed to traditional postage.
• As mentioned above, choose an insurer that allows you to at least lodge a claim online. This small convenience may just help to ease the trauma of an incident. Try and determine whether your insurer has a generally good online strategy. Do they have an information rich website? Are documents available for download from the website and is the website easy to navigate and clearly set out? Find an insurer that follows a transparent philosophy, one that interacts with their clients and provides various methods of communication on their website.

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