03 February 2010
New vehicle insurance products up the ante
§ Mercedes-Benz Financial Services South Africa (MBFSSA) launches superior insurance products for its discerning customers
Pretoria/ – “In the ever-changing business environment, and especially during tough economic times, one needs to be innovative and open to change in order to keep up with customer needs and requirements”, says Mike Honiball, Vice-President of sales and marketing at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services South Africa (MBFSSA). “Last year MBFSSA reviewed its insurance strategy and as a result we are now able to introduce two innovative insurance products for our discerning customers.”
The two ‘fresh’ insurance products together cover all basic insurance requirements, as well as some exciting new services. One is the ExecuProtect which offers a high level of cover, while the second is ValueProtect which offers all the standard cover a customer would expect. Both products provide cover which is fully aligned with the expectations of Mercedes-Benz insurance customers.
“What the Mercedes-Benz customer requires from the insurance product will determine which product he or she chooses,” explains Honiball. “We have made it easier for our customers to select the product that best suites their needs. The intention is to offer the premium ExecuProtect, and in the event that the customer prefers to seek cheaper insurance alternatives, the ValueProtect offers marginally reduced benefits at approximately 10% less cost, and is thus a very worthwhile second option. Both products guarantee repairs in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications, something which not many insurers in South Africa are willing to commit to in writing”.
The products are underwritten by either of MBFSSA’s insurance partners, Regent Insurance and Alexander Forbes Insurance.
For half a decade MBFSSA has enjoyed a sound business relationship with Regent Insurance as the sole insurance underwriter for its passenger car’s short-term insurance portfolio, which included comprehensive insurance cover as well as a number of other products.
“Our strategy was to source a second provider just as respected and reputable as Regent Insurance, to expand the risk appetite and thus attract more customers in a competitive fashion. We were most pleased with the appointment of Alexander Forbes Insurance (AFI), a reputable and respected Insurer in the South African market, and well versed in the type of insurance required by our Mercedes-Benz market” says Honiball.
With a second insurance provider on board, MBFSSA was able to carefully structure the pricing of these new comprehensive insurance products to be extremely competitive.
Some additional benefits provided by each of the products make these insurance packages most attractive and highly suitable for the any customer seeking peace of mind. The innovative additional benefits include:
- A concierge service (a personal assistant type of service) to the customer, as well as a fines assist service to help determine and deal with any current or outstanding traffic fines;
- A flat excess structure eliminates costly excesses in the event of a large-scale damage or the total loss of the vehicle.
In order to provide superior service in all respects to their customers, MBFSSA and their insurers set up specific dedicated customer interface elements. These include:
- Dedicated back-office teams at the insurers, familiar with the expectations of a Mercedes-Benz customer.
- Branded insurer-specific customer and dealer call centre lines backed in both instances by dedicated email-addresses to promote quick turnaround electronic correspondence;
- SMS notification at point-of-sale to customer confirming both policy number and call centre contact numbers;
With the introduction of various new legislative requirements, financial services providers have come under increasing pressure to comply with all aspects of the FAIS (Financial Advisors Intermediary Services) Act and Insurance Act.
In order to protect all parties involved, including the customer, MBFSSA also brought in a ‘check point’ whereby each and every policy sold at one of the group’s retail outlets, is followed up by a voice-recorded call centre call directly from the insurer. At this point the insurer confirms all information disclosed, not only to protect the customer, but also to ensure the sale was concluded in a compliant manner.
“Acquiring new customers is in no way an easy task, as customers are well informed and are fully conversant with the various competitive products, and also most familiar with their rights as consumers”, Honiball notes. “To retain these valuable customers was becoming more challenging and more important than ever before.”
It appears that MBFSSA has certainly provided superb insurance potions with the new products, both of which started ‘selling’ in December.
“The overall feedback from our retail partners is extremely exciting and positive as it confirmed that we had the right products for the changing market and customer needs. MBFSSA not only experienced the highest comprehensive insurance sales in December 2009, but also increased overall sales volumes more than 50% compared to our average 2009 sales. Our January 2010 sales also indicate a positive response from our customers.”
Media queries:
Annelise van der Laan
Corporate Communication Specialist
Mercedes-Benz South Africa (Pty) Ltd
Tel: 012 6771903
Cell: 0828207546
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