When it comes to the most common insurance products on the market, cover for soap makers, Zumba instructors and eyelash technicians don’t exactly spring to mind. It’s this kind of outside-the-box thinking, however, that has enabled AUZi Insurance to prosper since being founded in 2013, according to AUZi’s creative director Haylee Forbes.
“AUZi’s founder, Neil Inns, started the company by providing market stall insurance,” Forbes told Insurance Business. “As we’ve grown and incorporated more people into the fold, we’ve also introduced new passions and concepts for the insurance sector and have really become influencers in these areas.”
Thanks to in-house software and a dedicated software engineer, the tasks and responsibilities of AUZi’s brokers are unlike those at a traditional brokerage. Customers are able to get a quote and purchase tailor-made insurance products online within seconds of clicking on the company’s website, and if they’re having trouble with the process, a member of the AUZi team will be on hand to assist them, Forbes said. It’s just part of the reason that the company won the Best Digital Strategy – Brokerage award at the recent Insurance Business Australia Awards.
“We invest a lot of time and effort in things like social media and blogging on topics that, while relevant to our products, aren’t always focused on insurance specifically,” said Forbes. “We discuss business essentials that they might need and thanks to our focus on SEO, these tend to help attract a lot of new clients.”
This digital-first approach has been key to helping the brokerage weather a pandemic that has seen a number of its clients experience large downturns in business.
“Market stall insurance was our biggest area for clients pre-COVID-19, and so when the pandemic hit, this segment was immediately affected,” Forbes noted. “However, while the hand sanitiser industry obviously took off, a knock-on effect of this was massive growth in handmade soap as an alternative form of disinfection. Since we were already well-established as providers of insurance for soap makers, we’ve been able to really get a lot of new customers on board.”
AUZi’s focus is on providing insurance for small businesses, and so it makes sense that the company’s own team is relatively small at five people. Having a smaller staff serves to help in terms of providing a cohesive strategy, according to Forbes.
“Most of our customers know us personally, and they appreciate this ability to put a name to a face and get that level of personal interaction,” she said.
“Whether they want to get insurance as quickly as possible or have a discussion about what we can offer them, AUZi’s well positioned to help them out.”
