The Citizen (KZN)

Do your thing, get back ching

UP TO 75% BACK EVERY SINGLE MONTH

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Friday. That’s the day, according to Dialdirect, when most accidents are likely to occur in South Africa. Need something more specific? How about between 3pm and 6pm. That’s the time that most of these accidents take place.

Dialdirect plans to use insights like these, and more, to inspire and urge South Africans to drive right with its new smartphone App.

The App uses the latest in internatio­nal telematics technology to monitor driving behaviour. If you drive and insure right, you can get up to 75% cash back every single month. This is significan­tly higher than the rewards programmes offered by any competing insurance brands and is the first offering of its kind in the market.

According to Warwick Scott-Rodger, Executive Head of Dialdirect: “It’s no secret that insurance is seen as a grudge purchase. With our App, we are turning this general consensus, as well as the traditiona­l insurance model, on its head. Now, consumers have the opportunit­y to participat­e in their risk management and tangibly determine what they pay for insurance. In other words, do your thing, get back ching.”

To get cash back, customers must play their part and drive and insure right. This is a true partnershi­p between the insurer and the insured. Scott-Rodger believes that this partnershi­p between insurers and drivers is not only limited to the cash-back transactio­n, but will extend to making a positive difference on South Africa’s roads. “Providing a financial incentive to drive right will make our roads safer – which is obviously in all of our best interests.”

The App’s payback functional­ity is available to Dialdirect customers, but anyone can benefit from a number of features on the app, including monitoring their driving, participat­ing in driver challenges and winning vouchers. The Gauteng Roads and Transport Department­s said this year that 77.5% of fatal crashes and 89.1% of major crashes are as a result of “human factors”. In light of this, making drivers more cognisant of their behaviour behind the wheel could go a long way to reducing road incidents.

One of the seven drive score factors that the Dialdirect App measures is cellphone use – which is the cause of around 25% of accidents on South African roads. The other six factors are braking, accelerati­on, night-time driving, speeding, route risk index and distance.

“Improving on these seven drive scores will help in reducing the devastatio­n we currently experience on our roads every day,” says Scott-Rodger.

Customers can boost their monthly earnings by insuring right – adding Home Contents and Buildings cover to their policies, and by completing additional activities including a vehicle safety check, an eye test and confirming policy details.

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