3 min read
Did you know love and insurance are intrinsically connected? That Valentine’s Day has a much bigger impact on the insurance industry than anticipated?
Yes, that’s right!
It’s only in recent times due to economic and cultural changes that insurers figured out this connection. Now they’ve enthusiastically hopped on the Valentine’s Day bandwagon due to the high demands they are likely to experience.
Disaster stories on Valentine’s Day
While on a holiday in France, a woman’s solitaire diamond ring fell out of its setting. Thankfully, she had insurance and was able to file a claim.
Not all couples are so fortunate, however. In some cases, they do not have the required coverage.
For example, accidental damage cover is not standard with home insurance policies. On Valentine’s Day, however, lots of couples celebrate by setting up a bath with fancy candles, incense sticks, rose petals, and other ornaments.
If baths do overflow or the lighting creates circumstances of a fire, no coverage and no support for reparation can be extra costly. Companies can expect desperate pleas for help in these emergency situations as well.
The various insurance aspects being affected
In light of the various Valentine’s Day disasters and the help they warrant, let’s look at each individual insurance piece being affected by the pomp and love of this day.
Distribution
Think of all the gifts that are purchased on and for Valentine’s Day- watches, new phones, jewellery, tablets, and sometimes even a car or vehicle! All of these items need to be insured for optimal possession and condition. This leads to a direct increase in the number of policy sales.
On top of it, insurers also amp up advertising and add the Valentine’s/ love touch to it. It’s very common to find billboards and online ads that encourage one to gift the gift of safety and security to their loved ones. When thought about logically, it does make sense. Not to mention, it makes for an out-of-the-box gift that is truly beneficial in the long term. So, policy sales do increase.
Chinese millennials enthusiastically supported the purchase of this ‘love insurance.’
After paying a one-time fee (of $14, $43, or $72), if a couple marries within 3-13 years and produces a marriage certificate attesting to the same, they will receive a payout of $291, $873, or $1,455. This policy is offered by Alipay [1] which is owned by Alibaba, the e-commerce giant.
If money is not your thing, you can also get roses. How many? Up to 10,000 for a purchase price of $43. The policy is offered by China Life [2] and stipulates couples to marry after three years.
Customer service
Not all couples stop at gifting a tangible item. Lots of them also propose for marriage and/or ask their partner to move in with them. Cliche, yes, but we humans are a predictable lot.
Due to these proposals, a change of address calls comes pouring in. The customer service department readies up for the same, with the policy experts not far behind.
Claims
Insurance companies have reported that the number of claims goes up on and after the 14th of February.
The reason?
Expensive jewellery that’s lost, stolen gifts, fires due to misbalanced candles, and water overflowing from baths- all these lead to picking up the phone, calling the insurer, and filing a claim.
How can insurance companies prepare?
The ten days around Valentine’s Day are, hence, crucial for insurance companies. Technology can be the missing piece that helps them effectively deal with the sudden spike in work.
Using solutions like chatbots can greatly improve efficiency on the back-end and customer service for the person calling in. A chatbot can take care of multiple claims, customer service queries as well as provide personalised quotes at the same time while filtering out requests and cases that necessitate human involvement. The workforce is efficient and more productive by handling complex queries with reduced turnaround time for response and enquiries.
No one should have to wait on the phone to make a claim when digital solutions are available. Let’s play our role in sweetening Valentine’s Day. Who wouldn’t like love served better?
Discover how embedded insurance can help addressing similar challenges.
[1] Alipay [2] China Life
