10% cheaper than traditional channels, one call to solve claims
Last March, Ms. Song bought a new car and subsequently took out comprehensive insurance with an insurance company in the city. With the insurance policy about to expire, the insurance agent kept urging her to renew it, but Ms. Song hesitated: "I heard that telephone auto insurance is much cheaper than traditional channels. Is that true?" With a try-it-out attitude, she called several insurance companies for consultation.
According to Mr. Shen, the manager of Ping An Insurance's New Channel Department, in recent years, more and more car owners in the city have opted for telephone auto insurance. Purchasing telephone auto insurance is no longer just a fashionable choice for white-collar workers or homebodies; many people born in the 70s and 60s have also started opting for telephone auto insurance services.
Telephone auto insurance is 10% cheaper than traditional channels
Mr. Yang, 53, was one of the earlier adopters among his peers to choose telephone auto insurance. He told the reporter: "At first, I had some doubts, as there was such a big price difference between traditional and new channels. Businesspeople always believe in getting what you pay for, so I suspected there might be hidden costs." After consulting, Mr. Yang compared the quotes for telephone auto insurance with the original prices he paid, finding that telephone auto insurance was clearly 10% cheaper.
"Direct sales are definitely cheaper than traditional channels," was the unanimous response from multiple insurance companies interviewed by the reporter. One underwriting staff member said, "It's like how Taobao is certainly cheaper than physical stores because it cuts out many intermediary costs. The price gap between direct sales and traditional channels in insurance companies now ranges between 10%-15%."
Claims processing, one call does it all
In interviews with randomly selected car owners, 75% indicated they would first contact repair shops or 4S stores after an accident, followed by the business personnel from the insurance company handling compensation issues. "In fact, car owners should first contact the claims department of their insurance company after an accident," said a surnamed Yang staff member from the Ping An claims department. "Insurance companies have clear divisions of responsibility; underwriting and claims handling are different roles. After an accident, car owners should immediately contact claims personnel to assess damages at the scene or at the repair shop. After purchasing compulsory traffic insurance, a sticker with the insurer’s claims phone number will be placed on the car's windshield."
Many car owners feel that claims are difficult due to delays in contacting agents and waiting on the road, which is both mentally and physically exhausting. Mr. Yang said that after an accident, he simply called the claims personnel to inform them of his location and then handed over the repair bill to the insurance company, "It's just one phone call."
Car owners tend to purchase "third-party liability insurance"
Ms. Song told the reporter that when the direct salesperson recommended she buy "third-party liability insurance" and asked whether she wanted to insure for 50,000, 100,000, 200,000, 300,000, 500,000, or 1,000,000 yuan, she was momentarily confused.
"In third-party accidents, the maximum compensation amount for the third party is determined by the insured amount on the policy, ranging from 50,000 to 1,000,000 yuan. Nowadays, insuring for 50,000 yuan in third-party liability insurance costs less than 200 yuan, and the average third-party liability insurance coverage in Zhejiang province is around 200,000 yuan. In Taizhou, the most common coverage amount is 300,000 yuan per person." After the salesperson's explanation, Ms. Song ultimately chose to insure for 200,000 yuan.
Explaining why she chose 200,000 yuan coverage, Ms. Song said: "I usually drive carefully, and my home is close to my workplace, so I've rarely had any accidents since being insured." However, considering the increasing number of high-end cars in Taizhou, she decided to follow the trend and insure for third-party liability accordingly.
New drivers need to focus more on "third-party liability insurance"
It is understood that the highest compensation amount for each insurance accident under the new version of the "compulsory traffic insurance" is uniformly set at 122,000 yuan nationwide, specifically including a death and disability compensation limit of 110,000 yuan, a medical expenses compensation limit of 10,000 yuan, and a property damage compensation limit of 2,000 yuan. However, currently, if a major personal injury accident occurs, the compensation amount can easily reach hundreds of thousands of yuan, even up to a million yuan. Third-party liability insurance serves as a supplement to "compulsory traffic insurance" and has become a basic commercial insurance product chosen by almost all car owners.
Industry insiders suggest that due to the current high medical costs, car owners should appropriately select higher coverage amounts when purchasing "third-party liability insurance" to obtain compensation beyond the limits of "compulsory traffic insurance." Especially for novice drivers who lack road experience, the coverage amount for third-party liability insurance should not be too low; additionally, drivers who frequently travel long distances should also appropriately choose higher coverage amounts for "third-party liability insurance" to mitigate risks.
Author: Zhu Yuxiao
Editor-in-Charge: Wang Jing