Online vs offline purchase of policy: Which is better?
While I was pre-occupied with office-work, I got a phone call from one of my friends. An insurance agent had just visited his office and was guiding the interested customers.
Yashish Dahiya
Policybazaar.com
While I was pre-occupied with office-work, I got a phone call from one of my friends. An insurance agent had just visited his office and was guiding the interested customers.
Out of curiosity, my friend also visited him. On asking him why my friend should purchase insurance from him, the agent stared talking about his reliability factor and contacts in his insurance company. When my friend further probed and asked what about online insurance purchase, the agent smiled.. The Spiel: “Sir, Online ke case pe policy dhang se service nahin ho pati”The Catch:Process of online buying is comparatively new to India. There are still a large number of us who feel unsure of the safety and reliability of an online purchase. Skipping the usual process of touch-n-feel before a buy is hard. Keeping these points in mind, purchase of financial services online can be a difficult choice for many of us. And this proves to be extremely beneficial to an insurance agent.Let’s see a comparison between online buy and an agent buy: 1) Brand vs Person: When you purchase insurance online, you are getting in touch with a brand which is a fully functional company. While your agent can go missing or retrace his promises (owing to individual nature), a company working in a setup cannot afford to do so. Also, if you’re purchasing from an aggregator you will be able to compare the best of all policies which an agent will not provide you with. He will insure that you go for a purchase from his company only.2) Probability of a fraud: While purchasing insurance online, you can yourself read the terms and conditions related to the policy. You can even take a print out of the same or keep a screenshot with you. Hence, possibility of a fraud is negligible. But when the insurance is being purchased from an agent, the probability of an agent to mould the terms and conditions to get your favour is high. Most of the complaints received by insurance companies start from the unusually high expectations of the insured owing to the agent’s manipulation with the terms and conditions.What you should do:Even if you are extremely uncomfortable with an online purchase, there is no loss in checking about the policy online. Many companies have a toll free number on which you can get in touch with them to discuss your queries and questions. This will help in sifting the wheat from the chaff and provide a clearer picture to you. Also, if you want can discuss your inhibitions about making the payment online and the company representative will guide you on why and how it’s completely safe. Based on your judgment, you can opt for any option. But this time, you would surely be having more confidence in your decision and a clearer picture. In Brief: Most of us will be discouraged by our trusted agents to go online and check for a policy. And the reasons are pretty simple. The differences in the services start right from buying process (difference in premium owing to lesser operational costs) and go on till the time of renewal (direct contact vs a long chain). So, the next time when your agent grins at you and tells you that online service is not good, you would know better.The author is chief executive officer of Policybazaar.com Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
