Would you like insurance with that?
2degrees has begun offering home and contents insurance underwritten by Tower as an add-on to some of its broadband and mobile plans, in one of the more left-field product bundles on the market.
Customers of its Slingshot broadband brand can now put insurance products offered by transTasman insurance-seller Open and underwritten by Tower on the same bill as their broadband, mobile plan, and power.
2degrees said customers could save ‘‘up to $360 a year’’ through the bundles, which Slingshot chief consumer officer Taryn Hamilton said were designed to save people money and time and make their lives easier.
Consumer NZ spokesperson Gemma Rasmussen said bundled services could sometimes be good for consumers and businesses, creating room for deals by allowing businesses to be more streamlined.
But she said the consumer group advised people to be cautious when considering them, as they could end up paying more in the long term.
In particular, people should be aware that once they bundled-up services, it could become ‘‘a real pain’’ to unbundle them, she said.
The risk was that people got locked into services longer ‘‘and it takes more time when you want to get out of it’’.
‘‘Where you have got ongoing monthly bills, it really pays to make sure you are not forking out for an initial gimmick or something that seemed like a great add-on at the time.’’
2degrees said its Slingshot bundle would let customers pay for insurance either weekly, fortnightly or monthly, depending on the frequency of their bill.
Most insurers already allow customers to pay monthly, via direct debit.
Tower has been more experimental than many insurers in seeking different routes to market, having also sold insurance to more than 30,000 customers through a partnership it inked with Trade Me in 2015.
Orcon, Slingshot and other businesses, in what used to be branded Vocus NZ group, merged under the 2degrees banner on June 1, in the wake of Vocus’ acquisition of 2degrees.