For too long the watch market and watch collectors have suffered a dysfunctional relationship with the insurance industry.
In recent years the watch industry has been adapting to a more pronounced pace of change in trends and valuations, the speed of online innovation, the relationship between primary and pre-owned markets and simply changes in the demographic of collectors.
Meanwhile the UK specialist watch insurance industry hasn’t seen a genuinely new or innovative market entrant in decades and the legacy insurers were sticking to conventional, static insurance products, claims processes which were increasingly misaligned with the market and a response to the rise in thefts which failed to see the value of collaboration with watch market participants.
In response to this, Zing Cover was founded by a team of insurance and technology experts with decades of watch market experience and has rapidly become the leading specialist embedded insurer for the UK luxury goods market.
Most collectors first encounter Zing when adding to their collections with Zing partner watch dealers, where they see the company’s specialist cover available with a single click at the e-commerce checkout, in-store on Zing tablets or through a range of post-purchase delivery channels.
Then, having become a customer, they can start to manage their collection through their single Zing account with the watches in their collection automatically linked to the originating watch dealer.
For its watch market partners, Zing is far more than an additional revenue stream, facilitating greater post-purchase customer engagement and driving up brand affinity.
Certified pre-owned watch specialist Subdial, put insurance at the centre of a recent relaunch of its Clubhouse concept, which encourages collectors to buy and sell to each other while improving knowledge of their own collections within a trusted community.
“Clubhouse, collectors and enthusiasts can manage their watches in one place, digitally, tracking live prices and trading effortlessly. We know that insurance is important to collectors, and in Zing we found a specialist insurer with the products, technology and imagination to create insurance backed by Subdial’s live market data and which can be purchased and managed seamlessly from within the Subdial Clubhouse.
“We think the Clubhouse is game changing for watch collecting and trading, and we are delighted that our partnership with Zing is equally game changing for specialist watch insurance,” says Christy Davis, co-founder of Subdial.
Zing’s insurance offer is fully integrated into the system of a trading platform like Subdial’s, with its technology experts taking the strain.
“Because Zing is a technology-led business, its partner watch dealers do not have to be technology experts themselves,” says Rob Korzinek, CEO of Zing.
Every watch collector has experienced the pain of having to insure pieces that can rise and fall in value. The bigger the collection, particularly those with watches that have seen volatility in prices, or vintage pieces that are hard to value.
Zing aims make insurance simpler and more transparent, which takes the hassle out of trading and managing a watch collection. In turn, this can improve the relationship between trading businesses and their customers.
“We have found Zing super easy to use, the staff are extremely helpful with everything. Best of all the feedback we get from our customers who we lead to Zing is always positive. We couldn’t ask for more from our business partner and look forward to a king partnership,” say Sam and Joe, co-founders of City of London trading specialist Kettle Club.
Use of technology is accelerating fast in the watch industry and creating new ways to engage with and trade with collectors and Zing is at the forefront of matching its services to the sales channels and engagement tools deployed by its partner watch dealers.
Zing has the flexibility to work with traders with a variety of technological routes to market, including WhatsApp, which can have insurance integrated into a sales and marketing tool.
“We are increasingly seeing WhatsApp synchronised with watch businesses’ inventory management, invoicing and CRM systems. For these businesses Zing offers tools through which customers can receive personalised quotes and the ability to instantly insure their new purchases straight to their WhatsApp with the watch and associated insurance seamlessly added to their Zing account and automatically associated with the originating seller,” Mr Korzinek explains.
Luxury Watch Company, another Zing customer, says it has been impressed with the simplicity and speed of implementation with the service.
“The whole process is incredibly efficient and streamlined so that customers receive their quotes in no time at all. This in turn ensures they have a very positive experience with us in the boutique,” the team says.
“The in-store tablet is incredibly easy to use, which helps greatly when getting live quotes for the customer there and then with a follow up email from Zing almost instantly. Such a great service, I would highly recommend Zing,” they add.
Regular insurers struggle to value watches correctly, which is why household insurance, even with itemised cover, can misprice a valuable collection and find it particularly hard to keep track of assets over time.
This is despite the increasing transparency players like Watchcharts, Subdial and Chrono24 bring to price evolution for prestigious watches.
Collectors become frustrated when insurers fail to recognise the true value of their treasures, which is why Zing’s more dynamic insurance model is proving so popular.
“The dramatic rise in the availability, variety and usability of valuation data is also changing the way the industry interacts with its customers, and the way collectors view and manage their collections,” Mr Korzinek says.
“Few collectors are able to tune out from the media noise of fluctuations in watch markets. Zing believes in harnessing market data and the expertise of its watch market partners to keep its customers’ insurance values up-to-date with the vicissitudes of this often fast moving market, putting them in the best place to secure a suitable replacement in the case of a claim,” he adds.
Where Zing further elevates the claims experience is by working directly with its partner watch dealers, combining a specialist claims service with its partners’ expertise and access to the market, even for the scarcest models.
Zing’s customers have the assurance of knowing that if it comes to a claim, they will be dealing with genuine watch market specialists who will work with them to formulate a strategy for sourcing a suitable replacement for their lost, damaged or stolen watch.
Of course insurance could not be a hotter topic right now among collectors and traders because of a rise in reporting of watch thefts.
“It is a serious problem, and Zing is working discreetly with its partner watch dealers to drive up standards, detect and diminish the trade in illicit watches and ensure its partners and customers are informed without being alarmed. The volume and severity of watch theft is a problem that requires cool heads and sensible collaborations, not sensationalism and hyperbole,” Mr Korzinek suggests.
Zing believes it is this combination of expertise, innovation and market collaborations that leads its customers to insure their collections with them rather than on a traditional household insurance policy.
A typical Zing customer is financially literate and knows their options when it comes to insurance. It’s by working with and within the watch market, and learning from and listening to the market, that Zing has seen witnessed such rapid market adoption in so short a space of time.
WEB: zingcover.com
PHONE: 020 3989 7029
EMAIL: partnerships@zingcover.com
LINKEDIN: LinkedIn.com/company/zing-cover
