Eighty percent of UAE drivers want to buy their car insurance online, according to a Souqalmal.com survey – but many of the Emirates’ car insurance companies still do not offer the option.
Of the 20 percent of drivers who would not buy online, close to half said they could not get insurance online – or could not get enough information online. A third said they preferred to talk to someone.
Of the 11 car insurance companies in the UAE, four do not offer online payment: ADNIC, New India Assurance, Orient Insurance Company and Zurich (see table).
Of the 600 drivers Souqalmal.com surveyed, only 35 percent said they would definitely be renewing their current car insurance at their next renewal.
Customer service key
And despite constant reports that consumers in the region refuse to buy online, 80 percent of the drivers surveyed said they were happy to pay using their credit card online.
Some three-quarters have fully comprehensive insurance and a quarter are insured for third party liability only, dropping to 18 percent in the wealthier 35+ demographic and growing to 28 percent among millennials aged 18 – 34.
Other than price, for millennials, recommendations (21 percent) and good customer service (15 percent) were the biggest factors in choosing an insurer, whereas drivers aged 35 or older were more likely to simply stick with the same provider (24 percent).
Infographic: Car insurance survey June 2014
Car insurers that offer online payment
|
Providers |
Purchase online? |
Pay over phone? |
Online renewal? |
|
ADNIC |
no |
yes |
Yes |
|
AIG Insurance |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
Aman |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
AXA |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
New India Assurance |
no |
no – have to visit office |
no |
|
NGi |
yes |
yes |
no |
|
Noor Takaful |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
Oman Insurance Company |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
Orient Insurance Company |
no |
yes |
no |
|
SALAMA |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
Zurich |
no |
yes |
no |
Source: Souqalmal.com
Drivers want to know what they’re getting for their dollar, and are more online-savvy and less loyal – especially millennials, the ‘connected’ generation.
There needs to be a shift in the industry to take account of not just pricing but offering online facilities, and ensuring loyalty via better customer service. That is exactly where Souqalmal.com fits in – by allowing users to compare 21 different insurance policies with customer reviews and their particular benefits.
Some 84 percent of the 600 surveyed were male and 16 percent female; 37 percent were aged 35 – 44 and 42 percent 25 – 34.
Road accidents down in UAE
UAE roads definitely seem to be getting safer – as more people go fully comprehensive, the number of road traffic accidents is also dropping, with 1,712 in the first quarter of this year compared to 2,026 for the same period last year.
In the three years from 2011 – 2013, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) says total accidents have dropped from 6,700 in 2011 to 5,124 in 2013.
[Compare car insurance quotes and buy your policy online | Compare car loans in the UAE | Compare car deals in the UAE]
2013 road traffic accident breakdown
|
Reason for accident |
No. accidents |
% of all accidents |
|
|
1 |
Sudden swerving |
1,048 |
20% |
|
2 |
Misjudgment of road users |
668 |
13% |
|
3 |
Failure to leave sufficient safe distance |
573 |
11% |
|
4 |
Entering a road without making sure it is clear |
409 |
8% |
|
5 |
Speeding |
368 |
7% |
|
6 |
Lack of attention |
366 |
7% |
|
Other |
1,692 |
33% |
Source: UAE Ministry of Interior, March 2014
Unfortunately, this article is more about “spin” to promote the souqalmal website than accurate, research-based reporting.
Here me out:
Whilst the article may be accurate in terms of general, off-the-comments remarks of most drivers in the UAE, it is wrong to use such a small sample size of 600 drivers to generalise the entire UAE driver population of over 2.5 Million (source: RTA + Ministry of Interior statistics + Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing at Abu Dhabi Police)
At 0.02% of drivers surveyed, this is unheard of in any internationally recognised research company to make such statements such as “‘Give us online car insurance’ say UAE Drivers” and subheadline of “Some 80% of drivers want to buy car insurance online”.
Isn’t souqalmal’s premise one of being open, fair and transparent?
Nice graphs and charts and all of that, but using percentages hides the fact this “research” is not accurate enough according to any research company – international or local.
I would now even question the rankings and wonder whether some banks are paying souqalmal to be positioned at the top of the charts. Souqalmal claims that the rankings are based on number of searches for products, but how accurate is that? Is Souqalmal verifying that the searches are performed by humans and not some technology that can automatically increase the searches?
Am surprised all the media have jumped on this and gave it so much attention!
Hi John – the figure of 600 respondents is a statistically sound number to have a very high level of confidence in our results being representative of the whole UAE population. You’re absolutely right about us priding ourselves on transparency and consumer advocacy; if a bank were paying us, you’d be sure to see plenty of sponsorship all over that article and the graphs! Thanks anyway for your comments – please keep reading. Suzanne