Covid-19: Allianz offers Australian policyholders premium refunds
Allianz in Australia has launched a new self-service portal that helps speed up the premium refund process for customers, a move that it hopes will provide customers with a more positive experience
Allianz Partners Australia’s new self-service portal enables customers entitled to a premium refund for their single- and multi-trip travel insurance policies to receive their money back in three business days.
Any Allianz customer impacted by Covid-19 who purchased a policy before 18 March 2020 may be entitled to a refund, and so the company is encouraging customers to check their eligibility for a refund by visiting the Allianz Covid-19 insurance refund portal. Over 100,000 Australian policyholders could be eligible for refunds – amounting to over AU$12 million in total.
A positive experience for customers
“Allianz Partners reacted quickly to the international travel ban by temporarily ceasing sales of travel insurance. We started refunding customers whose plans were impacted by Covid-19 in June and have already manually refunded more than 16,000 customer policies,” said Damien Arthur, Chief Market Manager at Allianz Partners Australia.
He explained that the new refund portal, which was developed in under three months, was enabling the firm to process refunds much quicker, thus helping to provide customers with a faster, more positive experience. “While their plans may have fallen through, we're pleased to put some money back in their pockets,” he said.
Setting a precedent
This gesture will go a long way to improving consumer perception of travel insurance. “We continue to put the customer at the centre of everything here at Allianz Partners,” said Arthur. “This starts with offering refunds – not credit notes – and giving people access to a self-serve portal rather than having to ring and wait in a queue to get their refund.”
Arthur’s not-so-subtle nod to the controversy surrounding the credit notes being offered to customers by the travel trade industry (which is currently flailing) highlights that travel insurers are in a position to do more for their customers, and in doing so, can help build upon their reputation at this time. Hopefully more will follow suit.