Should you buy your insurance online?

Shopping online has been growing in popularity since the advent of the internet.  Today, by far the most popular e-commerce is retail shopping, in NZ the biggest online retailers are Countdown and the Warehouse, but other industries are growing rapidly too such as online training courses, and financial products including banking and insurance.

When Pinnacle Life first started in 1998, the only way to get life insurance was to call an insurance broker. We were the first to offer ‘direct’ cover, but direct in 1995 was different from buying direct today.  It involved TV ads, radio ads, a 0800 number and a fax machine.

Buying direct is entirely different now.  Assisted by technological change, such as the internet and smartphones, the ability for consumers to buy insurance and other financial products directly from a provider without ever talking to someone, let alone using a fax machine, has increased dramatically.

A recent survey by Consumer NZ indicated that you’re much less likely to be a satisfied customer if you buy insurance from a bank or an insurance broker, compared with those who buy direct from an insurance company. 

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