Insurance: The traditional, fresh and in between
New developments in technology and other factors have made digital cover possible, but the old way is still popular
It is now 20 years since Outsurance was formed. With its direct-to-consumer model it proved that most generic personal-lines insurance could be done without a broker: call centre staff could always answer any questions.Now there are several challengers to this model that offer no human interaction at all. The newest insurer, Naked, underwritten by Hollard, says it can get a car covered in 90 seconds. Naked co-founder Sumarie Greybe says the insurer doesn’t even have a call centre — and wouldn’t think of doing outbound calling, though it does have a help desk for those who like old-fashioned, human interaction, particularly when they claim after a traumatic event.There were no apps back in 1998, when Outsurance was established, but now online life business Simply Financial Services, which is a year old, does 85% of its business through cellphones or tablets and just 15% through personal computers.Simply takes a bit more than 90 seconds to provide life cover — it has to ask a few qu...
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