Inez de Lambert | August 22, 2016
New Zealanders are well placed to get insurance documents they can readily understand.
When Kiwi Insurance developed their new Life & Living life insurance policy, they put the customer first, right from the beginning.
The cherry on the cake was a WriteMark. The WriteMark tick shows that the policy meets the highest standards of document clarity.
Being clear shows you care about your customers. You want them to understand what they’ve bought, whether it’s a product or a service. You want them to be able to use your product correctly so they get the best results. And you want your customers to feel you truly value them.
How do you convey all that in a piece of writing? People often pin it down to plain language. Language is vital, with its elements like short sentences and familiar words. But to be clear, writing must meet many other criteria. Does the information flow logically? Is it easy to skim, scan, so readers find the information they’re looking for? Do the typeface and design make the messages easy to absorb?
When we assessed Kiwi Insurance’s policy, we measured it against 28 elements in five areas:
After we assessed Kiwi Insurance’s draft, we wrote a report with our feedback. We then worked with the policy writers to make the policy measure up to the WriteMark Standard in all areas.
Kiwi Insurance built in customer focus right from the very start as they developed the policy. They moved to a re-insurer that was willing to support a move to much plainer language. They removed complex language and jargon. Where they had to use medical terms, they explained them in precise, simple language.
The Life & Living policy is the latest in a list of New Zealand policies to get the WriteMark. It’s great to see insurers rising to the challenge of bringing clarity to a notoriously complex industry. Insurance providers who commit to the Fair Insurance Code also commit to providing clear documents for their customers.
ANZ, AA Life, and Asteron have the WriteMark for insurance documents too. Some Insurance Council documents also carry the tick.
Visit the WriteMark website to see who else carries the tick
Take a look at Kiwi Insurance’s Life & Living policy