Asande Dhlamini
asande.dhlamini@inl.co.za
THE Durban High Court has ruled in favour of insurance disruptor Everything.Insure Digital Intermediaries (Everything.Insure) in an ongoing legal dispute with Hippo Comparative Services (Hippo) over consumer education social media post.
The court ruled against the urgency of Hippo's application to have the social media post taken down.
Everything.Insure launched a social media series to educate consumers about the insurance industry, including posts about how it differs from other insure-techs and traditional brokers.
In the video posted by Everything.Insure, the company explained the differences between Everything.Insure and Hippo. The primary distinctions featured in the post were that Everything.Insure is an independent company offering multiple quotes from top insurers in the market, while Hippo is a lead generator that is owned by Telesure Investment Holdings, who also own 1st for Women, Auto & General, Virseker, DialDirect and Budget Insurance.
After Everything.Insure received a notice of legal complaint from Hippo, the post was temporarily archived, and Hippo was invited to clarify the parts of the post with which it had issues. After Hippo declined to provide any further details, Everything.Insure restored the video to its platforms.
Hippo filed a legal complaint with the High Court on March 31, claiming the post was defamatory and misleading after 12 days of being online.
Judge Chetty struck the application off the Durban High Court's roll on April 6 for failing to establish a case of urgency and issued Hippo with an adverse costs order.
Executive head of Everything.Insure Mishaya Chettiar noted the post was aimed at providing a balanced, factual view of the differences between Hippo and Everything.Insure so that consumers could make informed decisions.
“This post was based on market research, real-world case studies and an analysis of Hippo’s processes. This research highlighted that Hippo provided indicative quotes that then requires handing over the process to insurer call centres for final quotations.
“This is in contrast to Everything.Insure, which provides real-time, accurate and binding prices from the largest insurers in South Africa, together with digital insurance broking advice and intermediary services, allowing the consumer to immediately buy online, no call centres or paperwork needed,” Chettiar said.
She said the company had no intention of starting a war with Hippo. She said they had made great efforts to portray Hippo in the best light and focus on factual differences.
Chettiar said they were surprised when, after declining to provide details regarding their concerns, Hippo's legal team approached the High Court for urgent relief the day before the Easter weekend.
“Our intent was never to attack Hippo or any of the other brands included in our series of posts. Our goal is to empower consumers with all the knowledge and tools needed to make informed insurance choices and improve their experiences,” she said.
The company felt they were being bullied in a typical David-versus-Goliath manner, and believed so strongly in their mission to be an independent consumer champion that they were willing to pay the price to stand their ground.
“Everything.Insure is determined to continue defending our legal rights on behalf of all South Africans, who deserve greater transparency, accurate quotes and ethical information from the insurance industry,” Chettiar said.