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PAYD car insurance press releases

When news happens at Pay As You Drive, we want to share it with you. Check back here regularly for press releases about our revolutionary comprehensive car insurance product.

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Real wins Climate Business Award
Wednesday 9 December 2009

In just enough time for Christmas, Real Insurance has won another award to add to a Santa sack already full of awards from 2009!

This year, Real Insurance has been awarded:

·         The 2009 Celent Carrier Award for Innovation;
·         The 2009 Money Magazine Cheapest car insurance award;
·         A Cannex Canstar Award for Innovation and
·         The AB+F Direct Marketing Campaign award.

And today Real Insurance is proud to announce that it has won the 2010 Money Magazine Best of the Best Climate Business Award. The presitious Best of the Best awards are now in their 9th year, with Real Insurance previously winning the ‘Cheapest Car Insurance’ category.

Real Insurance has been honoured with the Climate Business award due to its innovative Pay As You Drive car insurance product, which rewards customers for helping the environment by driving less.
Pay As You Drive from Real Insurance, is the first insurance product of its kind in Australia whereby qualified motorists pay only for the kilometres they plan to travel.

Says Real Insurance CEO Roger Grobler: "Current car insurance pricing is inefficient and unfair. Drivers who are similar in respect of age, gender, location and driving safety record and who use their cars sparingly to help the environment should not have to pay the same as their neighbour who may be driving four or five times the distance.

“Environmentally conscious motorists, who are cutting down on driving their cars in response to climate concerns should be rewarded for driving less.

"It was against this background, that we felt the time was right to offer a robust, comprehensive motor insurance product for which customers pay only for the kilometres they plan to travel."

Says Grobler: “A study conducted by the Brookings Institute in Washington last year found that introducing pay-as-you-drive insurance would generate an eight percent saving in CO2 emissions, nearly two-thirds of households in the US would have lower premiums and the average savings for that group would be $276 per vehicle per year.”

Grobler points out that Pay As You Drive is not for everyone.

"Pay As You Drive is ideally suited for people who drive to and from the train station, or work close to home, and maybe use their car a bit on the weekend.

"Anyone driving less than the average for people with their same insurance profile will pay less than ‘traditional’ comprehensive car insurance.

"We want to give climate change conscious drivers a fair go. Pay As You Drive reflects large scale changes in motoring habits and in so doing, accommodates the changing needs of motorists," says Grobler.

Recognising that these changing motoring habits reflect people wishing to lower their carbon footprint, Pay As You Drive has partnered with Greenfleet, a government approved greenhouse gas reduction initiative to offer motorists the option to offset their car emissions with a one off tax deductible donation which will assist in the planting of trees. This is just one other way that Real Insurance is innovating to help protect our fragile environment.

About Real Insurance

http://www.realinsurance.com.au <http://www.realinsurance.com.au>

Real Insurance is backed by Hollard Insurance and is part of the Hollard Group of companies which provides a wide range of insurance products and services to more than 6 million policyholders worldwide.

Since opening in Australia in 1999, Hollard has issued more than 500,000 policies with more than $16 billion worth of assets insured. Real Insurance has been in operation for three and a half years in Australia.

Hollard is regulated and licensed by APRA (the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) and ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission).
Real Insurance has a number of firsts in the Australian market including:

• First insurer in Australia to offer the Real Bonus in the form of 10% cash back (If you haven’t had a claim against your insurance for three years in a row, Real Insurance will give you 10% of the total premiums you paid during that time and will keep doing it for every three years you haven’t claimed);
• Pay-As-You-Drive motor insurance.

Summerhill residents paying too much for car insurance
Thursday 19 November 2009

Residents of Summerhill are Australia’s biggest users of trains per capita and as a result many of them are probably paying far more their comprehensive motor insurance than they should says Roger Grobler, CEO of Real Insurance.

Says Grobler: “We have analysed numerous Australian Bureau of Statistics figures across the suburbs of Sydney. While Summerhill residents should be commended on their extensive use of public transport the fact of the matter is that if they have a car they are still paying the same premiums as those who drive even four times the distance.

“In effect many Summerhill car owners using public transport are subsidising other motorist’s insurance premiums.

“I believe that there are many drivers in Summerhill who are paying far more than they should given their profile and the distance they drive.

“These motorists are far better off exploring a pay-as-you-drive insurance system whereby they only pay for the kilometres they drive.”

Grobler points out that pay-as-you-drive motor insurance only works for those people who drive less than the average for their area and their demographic profile compared to their peers.

He gives the example of a 39 year old female living in Summer Hill who could save up to $365.29 by going to Pay As You Drive insurance. She drives a 2007 Hyundai Getz 5 door auto and would traditionally pay motor insurance of around $807.88 per annum. Using Pay As You Drive she would pay $442.59 for 5,000kms, $486.91 for 7,000kms or $553.40 for 10,000kms of insurance purchased.

Further examples

Cairns

Residents of Cairns are the largest bicycle users in Australia, yet like the train users of Summer Hill, are still paying the same premiums as regular car users.

A 29 year old Female living in Cairns who could save up to $193.90 by going onto Pay As You Drive insurance. She drives a 2007 Mazda 2 Neo Auto and would traditionally pay motor insurance of around $563.50 per annum. Using Pay As You Drive she would pay $369.60 for 5,000kms, $401.94 for 7,000kms or $450.45 for 10,000kms of insurance purchased.

Campbelltown

A 49 year old male living in Campbelltown who could save up to $356.97 by going onto Pay As You Drive insurance. He drives a 2007 Ford falcon Eurosport auto and he would traditionally pay motor insurance of around $874.83 per annum. Using Pay As You Drive he would pay $517.86 for 5,000km, $559.73 for 7,000kms or $621.68 for 10,000kms of insurance purchased.

Pymble

A 40 year old male living in Pymble who could save up to $323.82 by going onto Pay As You Drive insurance. He drives a 2008 Holden Lumina VE and would traditionally pay motor insurance of around $800.67 per annum. Using Pay As You Drive he would pay $476.85 for 5,000kms, $517.90 for 7,000kms or $579.51 for 10,000kms of insurance purchased.

Interested customers can get a car insurance quote and more information online by heading to http://www.payasyoudrive.com.au

Pay As You Drive car insurance wins AB&F Insurance Award
Tuesday 27 October 2009

Australian insurance company, Real Insurance has won the annual Australian Banking & Finance Magazine Insurance Award for the best direct customer marketing campaign for its world-first, trust-based Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD) motor insurance product.

Roger Grobler, CEO Real Insurance, said: “PAYD has been a revelation since we launched it in the Australian insurance market.

“It is a new kind of car insurance policy that gives people the chance to save money if they drive less.

“In the past the Australian car insurance market was structured in a way which meant that low-mileage drivers were subsidising insurance costs for high-mileage drivers.

“However, the motoring environment in Australia has fundamentally changed. Motorists are changing their travel patterns to accommodate the rising cost of petrol, increased traffic congestion and strained household budgets. In addition, environmentally conscious motorists are cutting down on their driving in response to climate concerns.

“We believe that car insurance pricing is fundamentally inefficient and unfair. Two drivers of similar age, identical gender, comparable address and driving safety record should not have to pay the same premiums given that one may be driving four or five times the distance of the other.

“We launched Pay As You Drive™ through a combination of an online campaign, PR, advertising and direct mail aimed at suburbs in NSW and Victoria where we knew we could offer highly competitive premiums. We also distributed flyers at train stations specifically aimed at those commuters who only travel to the station and back but yet pay the same premiums as people traveling into the city everyday.

“The campaign was aimed at people over the age of twenty five who don’t use their cars that often and those who mainly use public transport to travel to and from work, drop their kids off at school or who have a second or third car that they only use to go on holiday,” said Grobler.

For more information about Real Insurance and Pay-As-You-Drive please visit www.payasyoudrive.com.au

Insurance change could save Australia $3.2B per annum
Tuesday 30 June 2009

The Australian economy could save $3.2bn in unnecessary costs every year if it introduced motor insurance and car registration costs linked to the amount of kilometers people drive, says CEO of Real Insurance, Roger Grobler.

Says Grobler: “Pay-as-you-drive motor insurance is now available to motorists in 34 states across the US as well as in Canada, Japan, South Africa, India and Europe. It has been proven that incentivising motorists to drive less, results in less traffic, reduced congestion, fewer accidents and reduced carbon emissions.

“And it only takes a very small decrease in cars on the road to significantly improve traffic flow.”

Grobler points out that by linking the payment of motorists’ insurance and rego to the kilometres they drive it incentivises them to drive less.

Says Grobler: “A study conducted by the Brookings Institute in Washington last year found that by introducing pay-as-you-drive insurance it would generate an eight percent saving in CO2 emissions, nearly two-thirds of households in the US would have lower premiums and the average savings for that group would be $276 per vehicle per year.

“The study found that lower income people, who generally use their car less, save the most.

“The Brookings research is consistent with the savings we have seen already in Australia.

“Most costs associated with our motor cars are on a pay-as-you-drive basis including petrol, oil, servicing and tolls. Why then do we pay a flat fee for motor vehicle insurance and registration especially if we are travelling a quarter of the distance of the motorist next door?

“With a growing population, increasing numbers of cars on our roads and the resultant wear and tear on vehicles and infrastructure let alone increased emissions, it is time for a change.

“But in order to get motorists and the insurance industry to change their behaviour requires sound, manageable monetary incentives from government such as waiving stamp duty or the GST on pay-as-you-drive until it is widely accepted and offering the motor insurance industry rebates on initial set up costs.

“The aim should be to make the cost of car ownership as variable as possible.

“The more variable it becomes the less people will drive. Under the current system, low mileage drivers in particular are getting a raw deal on CTP and rego,” says Grobler.

Pay As You Drive Wins Best Insurance Product in Australia
Wednesday 22 October 2008

Pay As You Drive wins Canstar Cannex Innovation Excellence Award
Friday 24 April 2009

Real Insurance appoints COO
Wednesday 19 August 2009

Real Insurance, which is backed by Hollard Insurance and is part of the Hollard Group of companies, has appointed international insurance veteran and former CEO of Royal Insurance’s Italian operation and Group Strategy Director of Royal & Sun Alliance, Clive Mendes as its chief operating officer.

Real Insurance, has been operating in Australia for close on four years. It is responsible for a number of industry firsts including 10% cash back to policy holders after three years if they haven’t had a claim, as well as the introduction of Pay-As-You-Drive motor insurance.

Says Real Insurance CEO, Roger Grobler: “Following a global search, we are very fortunate to have found someone of Clive’s experience and calibre. So successful was Clive’s role in setting up the Royal Insurance operation in Italy that the Italian super brand has been written up as a case study in a business textbook called Marketbusters and published in 2005 by a Harvard Business School Press .

“At 23 Clive was also the youngest country manager in the history of the Royal Group when he was appointed to a general manager role in the Bahrain office. He later went on to manage the Lisbon office . In 2000 he took on Europe wide responsibility for Personal Financial Services including Motor and Household before becoming Group Strategy Director of Royal..”

Says Mr Mendes: “Real Insurance is not unlike the Royal operation in Italy in its early days. It is growing rapidly, has some very innovative and ground breaking products and for a company its age, it is already very advanced and sophisticated in its thinking across every department.

“My goal is to help the Real Insurance team become a truly stand-out business to which customers faithfully and happily bond and which is respected by its peers and society in general for world-class performance, operating excellence as well as leadership and innovation across the business.”

Mr Mendes studied Languages (Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese) at Glasgow University, Business Administration at Edinburgh University and a BA in Music from the Open University. He was born in Jamaica and has lived in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Bahrain, Germany and Italy. He speaks seven languages - Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German and English.

Real Insurance rolls out world's first 'trust-based' Pay As You Drive product using Exigen Insurance Solutions
Thursday 4th September 2008

Sydney – September 4, 2008 – Low mileage drivers now have a new way to reduce the amount they spend on their auto premiums – one that fully protects their privacy. Real Insurance (Australia) and Exigen Insurance Solutions, Inc. today announced the successful launch of a revolutionary trust-based Pay As You DriveTM automotive insurance product that eliminates the privacy concerns and lowers the technology barriers impeding the introduction of PAYD in world auto insurance markets.

Real Insurance, a part of the Hollard Group of companies, is now offering Australian motorists a usage-based insurance product that allows them to pay only for the kilometres they plan to travel. Exigen Insurance Solutions, which specialises in rapidly implementing new business initiatives and products for insurance, served as both a business partner and a technology partner to Real Insurance.

“Motorists are changing their travel patterns to accommodate the rising cost of gas, increased traffic congestion and environmental concerns,” says Roger Grobler, Real Insurance CEO. “Against this backdrop we felt it was time to offer a PAYD product. We created the first product to not require a monitoring device by enabling customers to report odometer readings.”

“After a previously unsuccessful policy administration system installation that could not support PAYD, our search for a competent technology partner brought us to Exigen,” says Grobler. “Exigen had the complement of integrated policy administration, billing and claims solutions and a world-class team that was able to meet the challenges associated with designing and bringing to market a completely new way of offering PAYD insurance. We were fortunate to have Exigen as both a technology and business partner with a strong mutual incentive to create a market-friendly, best of breed solution.”

“TowerGroup released research in November 2007 that profiled PAYD implementation as embodying two principles of innovation insurers must consider in their future plans: be agile, and be willing to accept risk,” says Matthew Macauley, Senior Research Associate, TowerGroup. “Most legacy policy administration and actuarial systems are designed with a heavy rating emphasis on the insured vehicle year, make and model. PAYD has completely altered this to mileage driven. To adopt this type of pricing model, insurers must have systems that are agile enough to adapt to novel approaches. The systems must be designed to capture data that has never been capturted in the past. Agility is key to revolutionising pricing models. More important, having more accurate pricing models is a crucial component in attracting and retaining profitable customers.”

Trust-based PAYD differs from the current market-place PAYD systems in significant ways. Most importantly, it does not require the installation or expense of a telemetry device that communicates driver behavior and odometer readings to the insurer. As a result, it alleviates deep consumer privacy concerns that amount to a privacy penalty for those who want a PAYD product but do not want a monitoring device.

“Collaborating on a trust-based PAYD product was a perfect fit for our business model,” says Gwen Spertell, Exigen Insurance Solutions CEO. “Hollard prides itself on developing innovative products and services for customers and Exigen itself is committed to redefining how insurers and IT providers can work together in economic alignment.”

“The success of the implementation also illustrates the robustness of Exigen’s new Billing Lifecycle Management product, which needed to meet specific trust-based PAYD demands,” added Spertell. “These included high-volume customer notification via phone, web, fax and mobile device; multiple billing and payment options; and rollover miles and no claim discount functionality.”

About Exigen Insurance Solutions
Exigen Insurance Solutions (www.exigeninsurance.com), headquartered in San Francisco, specialises in rapidly implementing new business initiatives and products for insurance. Exigen Insurance Solution’s market-ready new product systems and suite of P&C business lifecycle systems for policy administration, claims, billing and account management allow clients to rapidly introduce modern, service-oriented solutions. The solutions deliver competitive advantage and business process efficiency to top 10 global and U.S. carrier clients as well as mid-size and regional insurers.

Pay As You Drive car insurance first for Australian car owners
Monday 18th August 2008

In a climate of burgeoning household budgets, hard-pressed Australian consumers now have access to a car insurance product which could significantly reduce their annual car insurance premiums. Pay As You Drive from Real Insurance, is the first insurance product of its kind in Australia whereby qualified motorists pay only for the kilometres they plan to travel.

Says Real Insurance CEO Roger Grobler: "Current car insurance pricing is inefficient and unfair. Drivers who are similar in respect of age, gender, location and driving safety record and who use their cars sparingly should not have to pay the same as their neighbour who may be driving four or five times the distance.

"The way the current car insurance system is structured means that low-mileage drivers are simply subsidizing insurance costs for high-mileage drivers.

"Motorists are changing their travel patterns to accommodate the rising cost of petrol, increased traffic congestion and strained household budgets. Environmentally conscious motorists are also cutting down on driving their cars in response to climate concerns.

"It was against this background, that we felt the time was right to offer a robust, comprehensive motor insurance product for which they pay only for the kilometres they plan to travel."

Grobler points out that Pay As You Drive is not for everyone.

Says Grobler: "Pay As You Drive works for people who drive less than average. Motorists who drive a lot are actually being subsidised by traditional car insurance, and Pay As You Drive won’t work for them.

"Pay As You Drive is ideally suited for people who drive to and from the train station, or work close to home, and maybe use their car a bit on the weekend or for those who have a second or third car.

"Anyone driving less than the average for people with their same insurance profile will pay less than ‘traditional’ comprehensive car insurance.

"We want to give these people a fair go. Pay As You Drive reflects large scale changes in motoring habits and in so doing, accommodates the changing needs of motorists," says Grobler.

Recognising that these changing motoring habits also reflect people wishing to lower their carbon footprint, Pay As You Drive has partnered with Greenfleet, a government approved greenhouse gas reduction initiative to offer motorists the option to offset their car emissions with a one off tax deductible donation which will assist in the planting of trees.

Similar insurance products overseas require their policy holders to have their cars equipped with car monitoring devices. Pay As You Drive in Australia relies on the customer reporting the odometer reading of the car insured.

Car owners should call 13PAYD (which is 13 72 93), or log onto www.payasyoudrive.com.au to find out more and how much you may be able to save

Real Insurance Wins Celent Model Carrier 2009 Award for PAYD Innovation
Monday 2 February 2009

Exigen Insurance Solutions, the specialist in rapid implementation of new business initiatives and products for insurance, today announced that Celent, a leading research and advisory firm focused on insurance technology strategy, has awarded Exigen client Real Insurance, a division of Hollard Australia, a 2009 Model Carrier award for product innovation and speed to market of its world-first, "trust-based" pay-as-you-drive (PAYD) product. Awards were presented at the 2009 Celent Model Carrier Summit, January 29 in New York City.

Exigen Insurance Solutions’ Lifecycle Management suite for policy administration, billing and claims operating on the Exigen Insurance Business Process platform enabled Real Insurance to rapidly design, test and launch an industry-first PAYD product into the Australian market.

The award recognizes carriers cited in the Celent Model Carrier 2009 report. The report offers some key best practices in the effective use of technology that a "model carrier" would use, says Celent. Twenty carriers were selected from nominations solicited from over 100 carriers and 50 vendors. Real Insurance’s PAYD initiative was chosen "in part because of the innovative nature of the product and the quick time to market achieved through a phased implementation," says the report. Real Insurance is cited for achieving the tight coordination of all parties required to take the project "from conception to market in a rapid nine months, including integration with its own direct e-commerce channel."

"Developing innovative products and employing new technologies and business processes is a hallmark of the Real Insurance and Hollard brands," said Roger Grobler, managing director, Real Insurance. "In addition to working as a technology partner providing Real with a highly configurable and truly best of breed solution set with which to build the PAYD product and processes, Exigen Insurance Solutions also contracted with us as a business partner sharing the risk and reward to ensure rapid and successful time to market. Since our July 2008 launch, sales results have exceeded expectations and continue to increase month-over-month."

"We salute Real Insurance as an example of a carrier using technology and business partnerships in a highly strategic way," said Gwen Spertell, CEO, Exigen Insurance Solutions. "The Exigen Lifecycle Management suite’s flexible service-oriented design is helping carriers like Real Insurance to quickly roll out new products or enter new markets and distribution channels. We look forward to working with Real supporting their business expansion with innovative insurance product lines and channels for the Australian market."

(Source: Exigen Insurance Solutions)