Making insurance simpler

In 2017 we wrote a blog post about simplifying insurance. From the beginning, this has always been our mission. But since then we've done a whole lot more on our journey to raise the bar in the insurance industry. So we thought we'd share an update on how we're continuing to keep things simple.

Insurance as it should be

At Cuvva, we're making insurance as it should be. One of the most frustrating things with traditional car insurance is how unnecessarily complicated it can be. From the lengthy wait times on phone lines, to being passed around from person to person, to the complicated small print. 📄

We want to raise the bar in the industry by doing the right thing, creating insurance that is simple for our customers. And hopefully we're encouraging others to do so too. But what does this actually mean?

>We've cut out the middle men

Insurance is complicated, not least because of all the different parties involved. When you buy a policy it isn't always obvious how many people are behind the scenes. Normally, the insurance buying process goes:

customer → price comparison website → software house → insurance broker → underwriter

At each stage there is a fee for the service, meaning every extra stage costs you more money.

But at Cuvva, we've simplified the process by removing the unnecessary bits, and building clever tools that merge other parts together. 🛠With us it goes:

ustomer → Cuvva → underwriter

In the app

One of the most important ways we try to simplify the insurance process is through the design of the app itself. We consider every last detail from the colours we use down to the position of buttons on a screen. 📱We want the app to be as simple to use as possible.

And just so we know we're on the right lines, we regularly hold testing sessions where people come into the office to try the app out. One of the first things we say in these sessions is to speak up if something doesn't make sense. If something isn't clear or they don't understand it, that could mean we haven't done our job properly.

A great example of how we've made things simpler is how we only ask for the information we need, and only ask once. The traditional insurance process asks you to enter your details over and over again, even when you're sticking with the same provider.

But once you've created a Cuvva account, taking time to become familiar with the declarations, and the terms and conditions, you can get insured in as little as 30 seconds. 👍 So you can get on with your day. It's quicker than making a coffee...

The words we use

Most of us here at Cuvva HQ don't have a background in insurance. This certainly helps with making insurance as it should be. We haven't picked up any outdated industry practices.

We were able to start from scratch, questioning what the customer needs and how we can make the process great for them. We view everything through the eyes of a consumer, creating products we would (and do) use ourselves. 🚘✈️

This also helps when it comes to the way we speak to our customers. 💬Whether it be in a blog post, through our chat support, or the wording we use to guide you through the app, we aim to make it all jargon-free. We wouldn't want to be faced with jargon when trying to buy something as important as insurance, so we don't do it to our customers.

Instead, we use plain English. We try to make things as simple as possible, so you can understand exactly what you're covered (and not covered) for, to give you ultimate peace of mind.

Customer support

One thing that sucks about traditional insurance is how difficult it is to speak to someone when you need them. Often you have to wait on the phone for long periods, explaining your problem to various different people before you get the support you're looking for. And sometimes you don't get the right support at all. 👎

Offering exceptional customer support for us means making it as simple as possible for our customers. This goes beyond just the way we speak to you.

We wanted it to be as easy as possible for anyone to get in contact with us. We wanted all of our customers to be able to speak with somebody straight away if they had an issue or even just a question. And it was important that this should be the case whether it was midday or 4am. ⏱ So in 2017 we set ourselves a goal to have a 1 minute response time, 365 days a year (note: as of April 2022, our customer support team is available between 9am to 9pm every day).

In 2018, we achieved that goal. 🎉We've kept this level of coverage up even on Christmas day. This means that if a customer is in a pickle, they don't have to face extra complications when they're speaking to us. It's as simple to chat with us as it is to open WhatsApp and message your friend.

We do our best to make things simple. But we don't always get it right. If you can think of a way we could make things even easier for you, send us a message at support@cuvva.com or via the in-app chat. 💬