Remember the old days when you would complete all those forms at your insurer’s office? That kind of offline buying is rare nowadays, as more and more motorists sit behind their computers and buy online insurance. Naturally, nothing these days is completely offline. We will simplify buying car insurance ‘online’ compared to ‘offline’ for illustrative purposes. Let’s find out which method benefits you the most.
Buying car insurance online costs a lot less 1
Why would this be? The main reason is that online insurance saves the cost for an agent’s commission, and this is passed onto the customer. It would also save you fuel and running costs for travelling to the insurer’s office. To make online insurance attractive, online companies often provide discounts on insurance bought online.
Buying online insurance is more efficient 1
Imagine having to physically travel from office to office or phoning each insurance office to acquire information on the cost of each of their car insurance products? By going online, it is quick and easy to compare the costs of different products offered by different insurers. There are even online companies called insurance aggregators that do the comparing for you, providing you with some of the best offers to pursue.
The online purchasing procedure 1
Buying car insurance online is much quicker and easier, when compared to offline buying. Technology is so advanced that at a mere click of the mouse you have so much information available. You can compare policies, read terms and conditions, and buy a policy within a couple of hours. No more having to face the onerous task of completing lots of insurance forms offline.
The offline purchasing process 1
Offline buying would involve more of your time to meet with the agent, go over the policy, and eventually choosing the appropriate one. Then you would have to wait for all the policy documents to arrive at your address. Time taken could be about 2 – 3 days.
Availability of information 1
With online car insurance, you have all the transparent information at your fingertips, and you can save important aspects of the policy you would like to purchase to your computer. The converse is true when buying insurance offline, when you may only get to read the policy documents after having paid. You may also have to rely on the ‘smooth talk’ of an agent, which could be risky unless you are dealing with someone known to be reliable and trustworthy.
Settling claims could be easy online 1
It’s easy to submit a claim online and you can keep track of its progress online. This makes pay-outs that much quicker. Offline insurance claims are a lot more tedious, as you need to check each step of the claim with the agent. You may have to visit him physically to submit the documents required for a claim.
Disclaimer
This article should only be considered for information purposes only as car insurance is not straightforward. Please obtain professional advice from a certified financial advisor if you want to purchase car insurance.
It is clear from the above that buying car insurance online could be the way to go if it suits your needs. Perhaps you prefer the more traditional ‘offline’ way of buying car insurance? Find out more about getting affordable comprehensive car insurance that comes with unique benefits such as fixed premiums* and a reduce to zero excess* with Prime South Africa.
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