Each year, The Star holds their annual Reader’s Choice Awards – a competition that empowers South African consumers to vote for their favourite brands and service providers based on their levels of customer care. In 2020, dotsure.co.za was voted South Africa’s Best Pet Insurance Company.
The Star's Reader's Choice Competition is 21 years old this year rewarding those who excel in their field of expertise as chosen by The Star's readers. They publish an entry form for a duration of a month. The readers are invited to choose 50 of their favourite services etc on an official newspaper ballot. The entries are counted and the winners are published in a supplement. This year's prizes were R20 000 worth of cash prizes.
What makes this competition so special is that it isn’t about brands’ budgets, marketing efforts, or ability to impress industry insiders; it’s solely focused on the experiences of everyday South Africans.
“This award isn’t just about taking home the number one spot,” says dotsure.co.za Chief Operating Officer, David Roache, “It stands as a testament to our commitment to creating fans, not policyholders. It’s always been our goal to put our customers at the very centre of our business, and this award holds a special place in our hearts because it’s a direct result of that dedication.”
Upon launching in 2011, dotsure.co.za immediately began disrupting the insurance industry as a challenger brand. Designed as pet insurance created for animal lovers by animal lovers, they were the first pet insurer in South Africa to cover exotic pets, alongside their leading range of budget-friendly insurance products for dogs and cats.
Their love for animals doesn’t stop there – each year, dotsure.co.za champions Soft Landings initiatives that mobilise their staff, vet partners, and communities to raise funds for animals in need. In the past 2 years, they have raised over R1.5 million for the Animal Anti-Cruelty League, and continue to feed a shelter puppy for a month each time a pet insurance policy is bought online.
So, what’s the secret to being voted South Africa’s Best Pet Insurance Company? “Ultimately, we’re all about customer-centricity and bringing in that human-to-human connection that so often gets lost in the insurance industry,” explains Roache.
It’s this attitude that informs their holistic approach to customer service: From the highly-trained and passionate staff who operate their call centres, to connecting with their fans on social media, to on-the-ground activations that uplift their communities, each member of the dotsure.co.za team embodies the company’s values of Simplicity, Creating Fans, and Soft Landings.
The development of the dotsure.co.za Manage Portal is another avenue through which they empower their fans. By giving them 24/7 online access to their insurance policy, their customers can save time and enjoy ultimate convenience by being able to update their address, upgrade their plans, change their personal or banking details and more, wherever they are.
“It all comes down to learning what our fans want,” explains Roache, “So we can adapt our products and services to provide real value to them. Having the agility to quickly respond to our customers’ needs – be it through customer care, product development, or simplifying the claims pay-out process – is the foundation upon which dotsure.co.za is built,” Roache says.
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