Roadside Assistance - Insurance’s Newest Feature

Roadside Assistance programs are an innovative feature of the General Insurance Industry. Available to clients of private car vehicles, the roadside assistance provided by contracted firms can be had when your car crashes at no extra cost. Not all insurance companies answer your call.

Throughout the general insurance landscape there are several packages to choose from. At BCIC, however, innovators of the program, offers you ASSIST.

One Insurer states, “Our history shows that the quicker we get to the scene of the accident, the more accurate information we can receive. This helps us process claims faster and improves our efficiency. For the client, we provide security and peace of mind. As Insurers our job is to put our clients back into the state of mind they were in before the accident.”

“At BCIC, the ASSIST programme has been in effect since January 2002 and has earned the company an increase in its customer base,” Ailsa Francis, Marketing Manager explains. “Our clients are the most vulnerable at the scene of the accident. To add value to our product, we thought that all private car clients needed road side assistance service.” At BCIC service is provided throughout the island to secure the scene of the accident. Mrs. Francis, stated, “Depending on traffic congestion, the Assist motorcyclist will show up first then within 10 to 15 minutes, the ASSIST van will show up. We have a contract with a security company that will handle the accident scene in Kingston, St. Andrew, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Catherine, May Pen, Mandeville and Savanna-la-mar. We do offer limited wrecker service island wide.”

While most insurance companies do not charge their clients extra for the accident roadside assistance, there is a cost to be borne for the added service. As explained by Mrs. Francis, the market demands this service and it is the growth in market share that subsidizes the upfront expenses.

“Yes the service has impacted our costs, but I must insist and say that this has not been the cost to the consumer. In fact in January 2002 when we introduced the service, we dropped our rates marginally. The growth in our market share has outweighed the costs. The benefit to us is simple: we have satisfied clients. Those satisfied clients refer other clients to us. Indeed Mrs. Francis reveals that in two years, BCIC’s client base has grown by 25%.”