Hippo Insurance is part of the Telesure group of companies that offers motor insurance quotes as well as all other insurance cover and financial services. According to Stephen Cranston from The Financial Mail’s, Telesure started Hippo Insurance as the first online aggregator website, offering online insurance comparative quotes from different insurance companies. What aggregators usually do, in any field, is compare prices of a certain subject between numerous companies that are offering the service and thus save customers time by not having to shop around for the best price, in this case the best vehicle insurance. Hippo Insurance uses all the modern media to promote and utilise their services including Twitter, Facebook, SMS, and RSS. They also promote their products by utilising the ‘Hippo’ cartoon character with video, TV adverts and jingles.
Who is behind Hippo Insurance?
Hippo Insurance and their website is run by Hippo Comparative Services (Pty) Ltd whose directors are Leon Vermaak, the CEO of Telesure Investment Holdings; TJ Creamer, the managing director of Telesure Investment Holdings and JW Wilken. The Hippo Comparative Services Company was registered in 1979. Telesure was established in 1985. They use similar web platforms as the other insurance companies in the Telesure group.
Hippo Insurance is located at Auto & General Park, 1 Telesure Lane, Riverglen, Dainfern, 2191, Midrand, in the Gauteng region.
What services does Hippo Insurance provide?
The Hippo Insurance websites helps locate and compares (online) a range of car insurance quotes from about 10 different insurance companies. This is supposed to save you time searching for the best motor insurance quote and help create competition amongst the insurance companies. In the past, Hippo have been fined for failing to inform customers that all quotes listed come from Telesure insurance companies. However, this problem now seems to have been solved. Currently, Hippo provide quotes from both Telesure companies (for example: Auto and General, 1st for Women, Dial Direct and Budget Insurance) and from non-Telesure companies (for example: Regent, Hollard, Oakhurst and Standard Bank).
The process of getting the car insurance quotes is relatively straightforward and the Hippo website is well set out and easy to navigate. Also, and as mentioned, the same platform is used when seeking other types of insurance quotes, such as life insurance quotes and medical aid quotes. Car insurance quotes can also be accessed via a call-back service on Hippo Insurance’s website.
Hippo Insurance also offers a range of insurance and financial packages including cell-phone cover; income protection; personal accident cover as well as a family protection plan and funeral plan.
How is the Car Insurance Quote assessed?
Well, the insurance quote will be mainly based on the following factors:
- Age of the person requesting to be insured
- Gender
- Where the car is kept over-night – is it a secure place? Is the area safe?
- Make, model and year of the car and its security features.
- The insurance history of the person asking to be insured – for example, if you’ve filed a claim before, your insurance will most probably be a bit higher.
- The type of insurance you are asking for.
What do the reviews of Hippo Insurance say?
Hellopeter.com, a consumer review website, gives Hippo Insurance on the whole good ratings. The main cause for unhappiness seems to be due to continual automated call-backs and SMS messages that follow once a customer has made an on-line enquiry or a request for a call back. It is also likely that on-line enquiries may be followed up with streams of e-mails. This is supposedly meant to stop once un-clicking the box which says: ‘Yes, I’d like to receive communications from Hippo’.
Hippo Car. credit: ala.co.uk
Summary
Hippo Insurance is said to be the first company to offer on-line aggregator insurance quotes, meaning: offering an on line-comparison of vehicle insurance premiums from different companies. This, in concept is a good thing and ultimately helps save consumers time. Hippo Insurance have responded to criticism and do now offer a service that compares quotes from both Telesure and non-Telesure companies. However, it would also be nice if the company could remove people from the Hippo Insurance mailing or sms list once that person requests so.
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