German Insurer Sees Social Media as Next Big Trend

Verti, Germany’s second largest direct car insurer, now also offers commercial auto insurance for vans and RVs. Refresher: Verti – formerly known as Direct Line – is a MAPFRE-owned brand serving ~700K customers. It is named after a music hall in Berlin:

“Over the past two years, our brand change from Direct Line to Verti has focused on integration into the corporate structures of MAPFRE. The transformation is complete. Now we focus on profitable growth in Germany . Introducing new products is therefore essential” – CEO José Ramón Alegre.

Coverage is available for purchase via phone; an online system for independent intermediaries is in the works and is expected to go live sometime in April.

Wait, there’s more. It is the first major German direct car insurer to use Facebook’s Quick Quotes. “The Facebook user is addressed via an ad and has in his usual Facebook environment the ability to calculate his insurance contribution with a few inputs via the tariff quick calculator. Subsequently, the user can conclude his policy in personal conversation at the local rate via the Verti hotline. If you want to do without a phone call, you can navigate through the app in just a few steps to sign a contract.” The tool is currently available for desktop users while Verti is working on a mobile solution. Last, in the future, mobile quotes will be available via Facebook Messenger.