BusinessCommercial & Fleet

Hollard makes buying Marine insurance simple with CargoMile™

CargoMile™, a new online quoting and policy issuing platform offered by Hollard Insure – Marine, is designed to make buying once-off Marine insurance cover easier than ever.

What previously took a broker days to complete, can now be done in a matter of minutes.

When asked how she saw the platform as being a catalyst for positive change, Cynthia Nanthalall, head of Hollard Marine, said: “We see this as a big win for the customer. If this platform delights the customer the way we imagine it will or simply prompts our competitors to create similar or even superior platforms that enhance the customer experience, then we have contributed meaningfully to positive and enduring change.”

CargoMile™ uses analytical underwriting algorithms to arrive at an insurance premium quotation, and so every piece of information provided by the user will assist in determining a competitive premium.

Because it’s web-based and fully automated, users are able to obtain a quotation and cover quickly, easily and conveniently, from anywhere and at any time. No special systems are necessary, and CargoMile™ walks users intuitively through the process with its built-in instructional videos and infographics.

Speaking at the launch of CargoMile™ this week, Hollard Insure managing executive: operations Pierre Geyer said that Hollard, which celebrates its 40th anniversary next year, is founded upon its relationships with brokers – whom it must support, in particular around technological advancement.

“It’s hugely important to support and enable the broker to be more relevant,” Geyer said.

Recalling the days when one had to stand in a queue at the bank in order to transact, he added, “Today we bank in our pockets … I think CargoMile™ works in the same way conceptually.”

During a panel discussion at the launch event, Nash Omar, Hollard Insure’s managing executive: distribution, said during the launch of the LongLiveTheBroker™ campaign 15 months ago, Hollard had promised to provide its broker partners with better ways of doing insurance.

“I think the launch of CargoMile™ makes good on that promise,” he said.

Omar also paid tribute to Arnold Garber, who had developed the CargoMile™ system for Hollard, as well as Nanthalall, for having had “the courage and foresight” to see the value in the platform.

Nanthalall said that the win for the broker lies in “using this technology to drive costs down and efficiencies up” as it eliminates the duplicated effort and cost between the broking and underwriting offices. Where it previously took two to three days to bind cover on single shipments, it can now be done in under 15 minutes,” she said.

Colin Moodley, head of business development for Hollard Marine, said that “it’s no secret that Marine insurance as a class is in the spotlight now” owing to soft premium conditions and growing risk from natural catastrophes in particular.

Hollard, he said, “wants to be seen as the leader in pricing and risk”, and CargoMile™ provides the insurer with such an opportunity whilst still ensuring the marketability of the rates.

“I’m very confident that this tool’s pricing model is market-related,” he said, before asking brokers to test the CargoMile™ platform and provide Hollard with their opinions.

Estelle Bond, Hollard Marine’s business development manager in the Western Cape, said that the CargoMile™ offers significant cost and time savings as its processes are immediate.

“This makes a difference in a marketplace where service is the only differentiator,” she said.

Hollard Marine’s business development manager for Gauteng, Michelle Lombard, then gave the audience a demonstration of some of the features of the CargoMile™ platform, then did a live demonstration of how the system worked from inception to payment and email confirmation of the insurance policy.

The time it took her? Only five minutes.

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