By Steve Owens, Provident Insurance chief executive officer
Most people have better things to do than think about car insurance. You want cover that makes sense, at a fair price, and you want to know someone will help when you need it.
That seems a reasonable expectation to me.
Our cars keep everyday life moving: getting us to work, picking up the kids, doing the grocery shopping and getting us out and about at the weekend. So when your car is off the road after an accident or breakdown, life doesn’t stop. You still have to get to work and get the kids sorted, and now you’ve also got an insurance claim to deal with, usually at the worst possible time.
What I’ve learnt over my years in insurance is that how you treat someone at that point matters a great deal. They want to know whether they’re covered, what they need to do and what happens next. And they want an answer they can understand.
Technology can make a lot of this easier, and we use it wherever it saves people time. You can get a quote on our website in just a few minutes, at any time of the day or night, without having to talk to anyone if you’d rather not.
But sometimes you just want to talk to someone. When you call our office, you’ll speak with one of our team here in New Zealand who can answer your questions and help you work through whatever’s going on.
You might have just had an accident and not be sure what to do next. Give us a call and we’ll talk you through making a claim, step by step. Or you might be reading your policy and wondering what a particular part of it means. Whatever the question, you should feel comfortable asking it. Nobody should need to be an insurance expert to understand their own cover.
For me, good service means listening properly, giving a straight answer and doing what you said you would. If something is taking longer than expected, let the customer know. If you need more information, explain why. You can’t always give someone the answer they’re hoping for, but you can be upfront with them.
That care needs to start well before a claim. It starts with the people putting the cover together, explaining it and making sure things work as they should. Some you’ll speak to; others you’ll never meet. All of them have a part to play.
In our team, Rodney designs our policies, while Jaques helps customers find the right cover. The aim is simple: people should understand what they’re buying, what it covers and where its limits are. Getting that clear at the start helps avoid surprises later.
Mark leads our customer care team, and John looks after people when they need to make a claim. When someone needs help, knowing who to speak to and what happens next can take some of the worry out of the situation.
Behind the scenes, Paul keeps our computer systems running, Aaron plans where the business is heading, Altaaf makes sure we play by the rules and Subhash looks after the money. You may never speak to them, but their work helps us keep our promises to you.
My responsibility is to make sure we all remember who that work is for. Passing something to another department might be an everyday task for us. For the person waiting for an answer, it can mean another call, another explanation and more time away from everything else they need to do.
Being 100 per cent NZ-owned and operated gives us something unique in this industry and something we hold in common with our customers. We drive these roads, juggle the same everyday commitments and know how inconvenient it is when the car lets you down. That comes through in the way we treat people.
At Provident, our focus is simple: “To deliver the best value insurance experience for Kiwi car owners”. Best value isn’t just about the price. It’s cover you can understand, a quote that’s easy to get, and people who pick up the phone and help when you need them. We’re a company of real people, helping real people.
As technology develops, I think the insurance industry needs to hold on to that understanding. Use better systems to save customers time. Make information easier to find. Give staff the tools to help. And make sure there’s still someone available when a customer needs a conversation.
When choosing insurance, price and cover deserve careful attention. I’d also encourage people to ask how they can get help when they need it.
Because when your car is off the road, you want to know someone is listening, taking your questions seriously and helping you work out the next step. That’s what good service should feel like.