What are the major benefits of going direct with Business Insurance?

The nature, size and complexity of business structures often dictate the insurance company selected to provide cover. It appears that direct insurers are fast becoming significant role players in the business insurance sector and are no more regarded as the insurer only for the “small client” wishing to save a few rand.

As the direct insurance industry has consolidated and received ever increasing praise for cost effective cover and outstanding service, so has the expertise broadened to more business industries.

Many might however still be unaware of the nature and benefits of direct business insurance  – or might question whether their specific business would be the right “fit” for direct business insurance. We would like to discuss this in a few blog posts and with this in mind we have raised a few questions with the largest direct insurer OUTsurance:

What are the major advantages to insuring your business via direct insurance?

• No middleman means not paying any broker commissions and fees
• Your premium and cover are tailor made to suit your specific circumstances
• You remain in charge of your portfolio and are given expert advice and in many cases we also assist with an on-site survey which highlights risks and risk management options

Are there any difference in the way communication is managed between the Outsurance and the client between personal lines and business Outsurance. Is there still no broker or intermediary involved and does the client call the same numbers?

• Communication is identical for both; all queries are handled by our call centre advisors who are fully trained and qualified to handle them.
• As mentioned, in certain instances we also send out a business consultant to assess the business from an insurance risk point of view. This person offers sound advice relating to the cover available and to risk management aspects.
• The share-call # for sales is 08 600 60 000 and cover queries/updates and claims is 08 600 70 000.

How long would it take from picking up the phone for my business to be insured?

• This depends on what the client would like to cover. It can take as little as 10 minutes, stretching to 40 minutes if it’s a large business portfolio.

Does Business Outsurance offer support with regards to key person insurance and buy and sell agreements or would I be reminded or referred to someone to put this in place?

• We don’t offer this type of insurance and you may be reminded that you need this.

Do you expect strong growth in the direct business insurance sector and what might the appeal be?

Business OUTsurance pioneered direct insurance in SA. Traditionally it’s been the domain of brokers, however based on the growth of our client base, we see that going direct has a definite place and offers clients a good alternative.

Part and parcel of the direct option was to also relook the standard insurance contract used which is Multimark. We used it as a base and made appropriate changes and simplified it significantly. So our contract uses plain language which means it’s easy to understand, adding to its appeal.