"Insurance". A word so effective at repelling people.
Think about the last time a stranger rang or came up to you on the street and the first words out were "insurance..." What did you feel? How did you react? What were your first thoughts?
For many of us, insurance is a put off - "a necessary evil."
Let's explore why we hate insurance.
Here are three reasons:
It is something we pay for but hope never to use.
The "mine print".
The dated 90's slow and painful experience.
Insurance is an odd purchase. We buy it in the hope we never have to use it. When we need insurance, something bad has happened.
When a bad event occurs, there is still uncertainty if insurance will come to save the day. We wonder if our premiums have been paid? Whether the fine print otherwise known to us as "mine print" (hard to spot and can be deadly) will catch us out.
Whilst the uncertainty hangs over us, we are taken down the unpleasant trip of the claims process. This usually starts with having to fish out our policy and the insurance provider's contact details. Next up, the dreaded long wait and conversation on the phone line that ends with a bunch of paperwork to be completed.
The end of the call usually marks the start of the run around phase. Back and forth conversations and emails to clarify the details...
Why do we love to hate insurance?
The big bad corporate.
Shady salespeople and tactics.
Price increases every year whether a claim is made or not.
Almost everyone will have a bad insurance experience to speak of or will inevitably know someone in their circle of friends that have.
Whether it is the intimidating and pushy insurance agent or broker that calls and emails and will not take no for an answer. Or, the doom and gloom conversation that leaves us fearful. Perhaps it is the dated claims experience above only to get a "no, you're not covered" at the end of it all.
For many of us, insurers are viewed in the same light as banks. Big massive corporates that profits by taking advantage of the average Kiwi. It is not helpful when this view is reinforced in the news when a bad player is exposed for over-selling insurance to unsuspecting folk that have misplaced their trust in slick salespeople with fancy promises.
Insurance companies will almost certainly deliver bad news in the form of price increases every year. It doesn't matter if a claim is made or not. Insurers seem to try and lessen the blow by not informing us of what we paid in the previous year, perhaps in the hope we won't notice the steep increases when it happens. For those of us that are on top of our insurance, knowing the price increase will likely lead to shopping around and switching of insurance companies to save a good chunk of change!
Perhaps this is why we love to hate insurance.
What we at Quashed are doing to make a difference to how Kiwis view insurance.
At Quashed, we believe insurance is important. It is suppose to be there to help us financially when something bad happens.
Unfortunately, the way most Kiwis, including ourselves, view and feel about insurance today is counter to what insurance is meant to do - help us.
Quashed's purpose is to overcome the challenges and negative perception of the industry from a customer's standpoint, using technology as a tool. We believe our online platform has the ability to serve insurance in a simple, transparent and trusted way.
Check us out and start your journey towards a simpler and more transparent way of protecting the things that matter to you.
