Nationwide Focused on Making Insurance Simpler
I am On Your Side®
_________________________________________________________________________
Steve Uhlman | Sponsor Relations Sales Manager
Nationwide Insurance
614-332-4945
[email protected]
Insurance is complex. At Nationwide,
we want to help make insurance easier
for consumers to understand.
Results of a recent survey commissioned by
Nationwide Insurance and conducted by Harris
Interactive show that just 40 percent of consumers have
read their current insurance policy in its entirety, while
just seven percent described their insurance policy as
simple. We want our members to be fully informed
and confident that they have made the best insurance
decisions for their needs. We also want them to feel
comfortable that they understand how to use their
policies. But that may not be possible as long as the
words consumers most often use to describe the policies,
according to our survey, are “too long,” “complicated,”
“overwhelming,” and “confusing.”
Nationwide is taking action right now to help
make insurance easier to comprehend. Below are
some of the things we are doing to improve our
members’ understanding of their policies and help
them feel safer and more secure in the choices they
make regarding insurance.
Better comprehension
Insurance policies, which are legal documents, are
carefully guided at the state level by legislators and
regulators. The language in policies is worded carefully
to make sure consumers have a better understanding of
what they are purchasing; however, that language is often
complex. Our survey found that 92 percent of consumers
would support a law that encouraged insurance
companies to provide a one-page summary of their
policy. Nationwide supports legislative and regulatory
changes that would create an easy-to-read summary with
the official insurance contract.
Greater readability
Some of the complex language required by states
makes it difficult for even consumers who take the time
to read the contracts to really understand what they say.
According to the survey, only one in five consumers
believe they completely understand the details in their
insurance policy. To improve the readability of our
contracts, we used the Flesch Reading Ease Formula and
conducted internal research and focus groups to assess
how well we communicate with our members. Using this
data, we are working with legislators and regulators to
simplify the language.
Technology, on your terms
Finally, as smartphones and other mobile
devices become an increasingly dominant means of
communication, we’d like to reach out to our members
through the channels that are most convenient for them.
Regulatory guidelines and restrictions in some
states currently call for handwritten signatures on
contracts, paper notifications from insurers, and require
motorists to carry hard copies of insurance forms in
their vehicles. While these guidelines were put in place
to protect companies and consumers, the ability to use
electronic signatures and notifications and display proof
of insurance on their devices would make it easier for
consumers. Nationwide is working with policymakers
to approve legislation that would allow use of electronic
notifications and signatures on insurance documents.
Change never comes easy. But when our survey tells us
57 percent of consumers know more about their favorite
prime-time television shows than they do about their
insurance policy, anything we can do to help them better
understand their insurance policy is an important step to take.
Contact your local Nationwide agent, call
1-877-OnYourSide, or visit nationwide.com/WVFB.
West Virginia Farm Bureau News 11