Busting common myths about online insurance buying By GAURAV RAJPUT, AVIVA INDIA The e-commerce market in India is set to grow the fastest within the Asia-Pacific Region, at a CAGR of over 57 per cent between 2012-2016, as per the latest research by Forrester, a leading global research and advisory firm. This highlights the importance of the online medium and the potential it has, especially in a country like India, where more than 10 per cent of the population is now online. Indian consumers are increasingly opening up to online shopping as a concept that extends beyond purchase of travel, movie tickets and booking hotels. Today, we buy our gadgets, apparels and even financial products online. Online insurance as a segment, too, has been expanding rapidly over the past 3 years with over 10 private insurers offering products online. Despite the growth curve of the online insurance market, there are still some gaps in consumer understanding about purchasing insurance online. This is because insurance is perceived to be a complicated product where “expert guidance” is required to help one decide which policy to invest in. Given below are some of the most common myths associated with purchasing an online insurance product: Complex: Many people believe buying insurance online is complicated. They feel that only those who are tech savvy, and have a sound knowledge of financial products and jargons, can buy it online. However, this is a misconception. Buying insurance online is, in fact, a very simple process. An individual has to go online to the insurance company’s website, calculate the cover he/she needs (many companies provide insurance calculators on their websites) and the premium. All one has to do is fill details like personal information, amount of life cover required, policy term, and medical information, followed by which you get a premium quote, and pay the amount online. After you have paid the premium, you may get a mail or call from the insurance company to submit the important documents required for essential procedures like KYC (know your customer). A lot of companies these days allow you to upload documents online. An individual can then go for medical examination if required. To help you decide which insurance is best suited to your needs, you can visit numerous comparator sites that offer a detailed comparison of different products, or call up the company representative who will help you with the information you desire. Safety: One of the first and foremost things you look out for when you buy any product online is safety. Two questions which arise in one’s mind about safety are – How safe is the brand and how safe is it to buy a product online? Buying insurance online is as safe as buying any other product online. One should always do the necessary background check on the insurance company. Product suite, policy structure, customer service capabilities, distribution points, claim settlement ratio, are some of the key things you should look for. You can find all the information on the website of the insurance company. Different treatment for online plans: Majority of the internet users think that both online plans and offline plans are treated differently when it comes to claim settlement as the premiums of online policies are cheaper than offline counterparts. This is not true. The only reason why online plans are cheaper is because online, as a medium, has a lower distribution cost. Therefore, products offered through the internet are cheaper than the offline products. There is no difference between claim settlement of an online or offline plan. Security of personal data: A lot of people are scared to buy online due to cases of online credit card fraud and theft. However, this happens when you share data with an unknown website or brand. A trusted brand would never cheat on its customer. In case of insurance, the website from where you buy an online product is secure, and hosted on a SSL-certified server, which enables security of personal data and financial transaction. One just needs to check for SSL certificate before buying a product. Time consuming : One of the main reasons why many people are hesitant to buy insurance online is due to the “do-it-yourself” nature of the business. Purchasing online insurance is, in fact, a quick and hassle free process. A customer care executive is always ready to help you, if you get stuck anywhere. The entire process of applying for a policy does not take more than 15 minutes. This way, you also get to learn and understand the policy in its entirety before you invest your hard earned money in it, rather than investing in something that you don’t understand. One must not forget that insurance companies offer the ‘Freelook’ period for online policies as well. This means that if you realize, after buying a policy online, that it may not be the right product for you, you can return the policy to the insurance company within the 15 day ‘Freelook’ period and get a refund. In some online products, companies offer a ‘Freelook’ period of 30 days as well. (Mr Rajput is the Director for Marketing at Aviva India)