November/December Issue 59 - Flipbook - Page 31
Aston Lark
How buying a car can be like buying your SME insurance
Specialist
advice
from
experienced professionals is
invaluable. Whether it’s buying
a car or selecting the right
insurance product for your
business. We live in a time
where technology gives us an
option to deliver efficiencies
in all our buying processes,
but does efficiency always
guarantee the right product?
Lewis Doyle, Associate Director
at Aston Lark, shares his
experience of the invaluable
professional advice he received
when purchasing a new car and
demonstrates how the same
theory applies to purchasing your
recovery business insurance.
Back in the summer, during the
period where travelling was
permitted, I had an appointment
with a car dealer to enquire about
a new car. It was a bit of an odd
experience, due to the strict social
distancing and hygiene procedures
in place. The dealer had a slick
working process, but it still wasn’t
quite the experience I had in mind.
I’d already chosen which model I
wanted and had lost many hours
to YouTube video reviews. I’d
watched videos about the interior
design, the light clusters and the
face-lifted front grille. I’d watched
people drive the car at night, during
the day, in snow, with left-hand
drive versions and right-hand drive
versions. I’d watched YouTubers
wax lyrical about the exhaust
tones and ambient lighting.
Having done my research, I
thought I was pretty much good
to go. Knowing the product well
would mean I could get straight
to the exciting part of driving the
car and signing on the dotted line.
Then came the options list. It
wasn’t a simple menu of addons, as I’d anticipated, but rather
it was ‘packs’ that included a
selection of options. There was
a technology pack, a comfort
and sound pack. There were
engine configurations, gear box
choices, colours - which impact
residual values, seat materials,
lumber
support,
mechanical
options
that
move
interior
components and many more...
At this point I realised that while
my research helped, and was fun,
I needed to stop and admit that I
needed help to walk me through
all of this. The salesman took
me back a few steps and started
to get to know me and, through
consultation, worked out what was
important to me, what the nonnegotiable elements were and
where I could find value through
these ‘packs’ rather than add-ons.
After a short amount of time, the
car I wanted was laid out in front
of me at a price I was happy with.
So, how does this compare to
purchasing recovery insurance?
If you run a recovery operation,
there’s no doubt you’ve spent a
lot of time creating the successful
business you’re in now, with long
nights and early mornings to keep
things running. But the truth is,
accidents happen, fires start,
litigation occurs and if you haven’t
been given expert advice about
the insurance protection you’ve
bought, you might find yourself
in a situation where you lack
the cover you actually needed.
All those hours of business
planning
and
sleep-deprived
evenings may have counted
for nothing, because that strict
policy condition hidden on page
65 of the PDF policy you were
emailed, wasn’t made clear.
As an insurance broker, our role is
to help you protect your business
to the level you’re happy with. We’ll
give you the options of protection
where you need it. We’ll walk you
through the difference between an
excess and a franchise, help you
understand the difference between
increased costs of working and
additional increased costs of
working. We’ll help you understand
that condition on page 65.
When it comes to buying insurance
for your business, talk to a
specialist. Contact our specialist
advisers, Chris and Russell or
alternatively complete the call back
request form and we’ll call you.
Chris Chapman
chris.chapman@astonlark.com
T: 01732 386766
M: 07825 652829
Russell Winch
russell.winch@astonlark.com
T: 01732 386712
M: 07970 481416
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