The year is 2019. Everything is now instant. Millennials are ruling the digital world. Big corporations are channelizing their resources towards catering to their needs. The smartest brains are swimming in an ocean of data to find insights into getting people to click the Buy Now button. Amidst all this, the biggest beneficiaries of this online revolution are the customers.
The insurance industry is right in the middle of this digitization-powered paradigm shift. Online insurers are changing the game as far as auto insurance is concerned. Such is the impact that traditional insurers are also creating a ‘car insurance online’ strategy and not solely relying on offline ways.
Listed below are 5 major differences between online and offline methods of buying a car insurance policy.
No documentation
Filling lengthy forms is nothing short of a nightmare. The offline process entails a lot of form-filling. Whereas the online process does not demand any documentation. Yes, there is an online form but it comprises of basic details, that’s all.
Time saving
We live in an era where time is money. And time saved is money saved. When you buy a policy online, you can complete the purchase process within few minutes. Not just that, you can buy car insurance online even at midnight! it is not time bound.
The offline process is time-consuming. You have to visit the insurance company’s branch office to buy a car insurance policy. Even if an agent is involved, the agent will come to your place at a pre-decided time and then the process shall move forward.
Low prices
Offline insurance needs physical offices, staff, and resources to keep things going. All this increases the operational cost. However, in case of online insurance, digital insurers do not have physical sales offices. The manpower is also less. All this means less operational cost. This is one of the factors why online policies are low priced. This doesn’t affect the coverage offered at all.
More control
In an offline scenario, you come in contact with an executive or an agent who sells you the policy. The important word here is ‘sell’. Chances are that you might be sold something that you might not need. For example, an unnecessary Add-on. However, with car insurance online, you ‘buy’. The control lies in your hand. There is no agent involved. If you face any difficulty, you can pick up your phone and speak with the call center executives who will provide you all the information about the inclusions and exclusions of the policy so that you can make an informed decision regarding purchasing car insurance online.
Easy to compare
Imagine going to different insurer’s branch office to know your car insurance quote and compare policies manually! This is surely an inconvenient way of going about insuring your car. It becomes extremely easy to compare policies online. There are various web aggregator sites as well that will help you compare policies. Even comparing the policies individually is not a big deal online. You can do it easily with the help of car insurance calculators available on the website. Most insurers have incorporated the calculator in their purchase journey, so that once you are comfortable with the quote and the policy, you can purchase it then and there.
Renew car insurance online
Purchasing car insurance once is not enough. It needs to be renewed from time-to-time. And as your insurer might already have your details, it gets easier to renew car insurance online as compared to purchasing it for the first time. Do not forget to renew your policy in a timely manner and always drive safely.
(By Animesh Das, Head of Product Strategy of ACKO General Insurance)
