DISCOVERY Business Insurance has launched four new products it says are tailored to the specific needs of restaurant owners, healthcare professionals, lawyers and accountants, as well as heavy commercial vehicle operators.
Discovery Insure Chief Executive Officer, Anton Ossip said the company expanded into the commercial insurance space in 2018 with the vision of building better businesses and remains committed to supporting business insurance clients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have used our understanding of these industries and our experience in the commercial insurance space to create bespoke insurance solutions to help business clients with the risks they face daily, including COVID-19 risks.”
Ossip said they realised that heavy commercial vehicles faced unique risks such as overloading, vehicle safety and driver wellness. “This industry also faces challenges of distracted driving and driver fatigue caused by long hours on the road. Research by the shows that 71% of commercial motor accidents were caused by distracted driving and 13% of truck drivers were fatigued at the time of their accident .”
He said that over the last three years, Vitality Drive for Business had collected seven million minutes of driving data through smaller commercial vehicle clients. The results showed that vehicles that drive well have an 87% lower loss ratio than vehicles that are not on the programme.
“These lessons and insights have been applied to expand our offering to heavy commercial vehicles that not only offers them comprehensive insurance, but also gives them access to risk management tools and innovative technology that helps them manage their vehicle fleet well, improve their driving behaviour and most importantly, keep their drivers safe on the road.”
Ossip said the company now offers comprehensive insurance for heavy commercial vehicles, including innovative technology and rewards to help clients manage their vehicle fleet well. Clients can save up to 40% on their vehicle premiums for being RTMS-certified and driving well on the Vitality Drive for Business programme. Clients can also get discounts on services to help them prepare for the annual RTMS audit as well as access to Vitality Health Checks for drivers and discounts on tyres and related services.
Turing to the restaurant industry, Ossip said it contributed R72 billion to the national economy in 2019 and employed over 500 000 people. The sector has been hard-hit by COVID-19 and 33% of local restaurants have had to close shop since the start of the lockdown, while 70% had to retrench employees, according to the Restaurant Association of SA.
He said that during lockdown, Discovery Insure extended rewards and premium relief exceeding R230 million to assist clients during this difficult period.
“To help our restaurant clients through this difficult time, we offered them premium relief by automatically giving restaurants 25% cash back on their non-motor premium for the months of January to April 2021 and we are pleased to extend this benefit to June 2021.”
With the new Restaurant owners’ product, Discovery Business Insurance-clients get tailored insurance with automatically included benefits at no additional premium such as business interruption cover following a physical loss event, cover for other business premises and stock kept at multiple premises, cyber and accidental damage cover for point-of-sale devices.
Commenting on healthcare professionals, Ossip said more than 25 000 of them were associated with Discovery Health. “Through our relationship with these professionals and the experience we have gathered over 25 years in business, we have learned a lot about this sector.
“Healthcare professionals are adopting the use of digital systems to service their clients, with 53% of physicians using e-prescribing systems. This increases the risk of cyber-attacks and reputational damage events for the medical practice.”
The Discovery Business Insurance’s healthcare professionals’ product offers embedded benefits at no additional premium such as an upfront payment of 25% of the business interruption claim for Discovery Health Medical Scheme providers, cover for cyber and reputational risks and worldwide cover for the healthcare professional’s medical equipment. Expert legal assistance and information packs will help clients with issues related to the POPI Act such as the relevant information to include in the client consent forms.
There are over 34 000 practicing attorneys and over 47 000 accounting professionals in South Africa. There has been an increase in the use of digital systems by these professionals, with 67% of accountants preferring cloud-based accounting. This exposes these professions to an increased risk of cyber attacks.
“To help lawyers and accountants protect their clients’ confidential information, we have created a bespoke product for these professions including automatically embedded benefits at no additional premium such as cover for cyber and reputational risks, discounts on new laptop purchases, Lexis Sign and Lexis WinDeed and much more.
“With these new products, we’re cementing our support for South African businesses at a time when they face immense challenges,” Ossip said.
