Launching the products on their newly developed online quoting system, Paragon have enabled agents, brokers, tenants and landlords to directly access details, costs and obtain an immediate quote for the Zurich products which include landlords buildings and contents insurance, tenants contents insurance and contents only cover for landlords of flats.
Drawing on their own experiences and knowledge, as well as listening to clients’ needs, Paragon’s in-house development team took approximately twelve months to design a system which allows for huge growth and diversification whilst offering a more efficient service to lettings agents, landlords, tenants and brokers alike.
Greater flexibility to react to legislative and market changes rapidly has been afforded, and new services and products can be added as and when they become available.
Project Manager, Bekki Leaves comments:
“As with any new development, we had to balance the needs of our business with the pressures to release the site so that we could ensure it does exactly what we say it will and is what our clients want. One advantage to the agent or broker is that, even if a client obtains a quote directly from the site, we have made provision for them to let us know which agent or broker referred them, so they will still receive their commission without actually having to do anything.
"We will also contact current clients to cross sell products and, again, if an agent or broker has made the initial referral, they will receive their commission.”
Enhanced product features from Zurich include £10,000 landlord’s contents cover and £2million legal liability to others cover as standard; no claims discount under landlords insurance as well as covering reasonable additional expenses of comparable alternative accommodation should the insured property become uninhabitable as a result of damage caused by an insured peril with a maximum cover available of up to 20% of the sum insured.
Up to £10,000 employers liability cover for domestic employees relating to the property; increased cover during December and January on tenants contents insurance to cover gift related purchases and, for weddings, for one month before and after the wedding day of the proposer or any member of their family, increased cover for wedding gifts and related purchases.
Under tenants contents insurance, jury service is also included covering up to £50 per day for a maximum of 20 days towards loss of earnings and expenses that cannot be recovered by other means.
On the new working relationship, Bryn Cole, Managing Director says:
“Zurich Insurance is a well known and trusted household name in the UK insurance market and our partnership with them can only strengthen our offering. The improved products and services underwritten by Zurich compare very favourably in the marketplace by way of lower premiums, and levels of cover surpass those offered by many of our competitors.”
Paragon Advance has been providing insurance products to the lettings industry for 13 years and has gained a reputation for outstanding customer service and enviable conversion and retention rates along with an extremely low claim rate. This has, to a large extent, come about due to the high standard of tenant referencing services provided by its sister company, FCC Paragon.
