I got rear-ended on the freeway last week.
Don't worry, no one seems to be hurt. But my rear bumper got messed up, and the guy who hit me messed up his car's grill pretty well.
The other thing that struck me, though, is that the technology of insurance accident reporting doesn't seem to have changed much over the years. The other motorist had a digital camera, and took pictures of the damage, but it's unclear what will come of that.
And when I called my insurance broker, everything had to be handled by phone or fax. No email. No online forms. It all seemed like a recipe for extra work and unnecessary mistakes, all leading to higher premiums.
I asked the nice lady at the claims center about it, and she sighed and said they were hoping to begin using email soon, but the that the insurance company was worried about privacy issues.
That's a valid concern, but one that many other industries with similar issues -- financial services, for example -- seem to have solved.
It's not an area I hope to have lot of real-world experience with, but I have to admit I was quite annoyed that I couldn't deal with things online. If I ever gather the willpower to switch insurance companies, online access will certainly be a factor in my choices.
Well said.
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