Vequote(tm) Automates High Volume Calls

Vequote(tm) Automates High Volume Calls To Insurance Market

VeCommerce launches self-service insurance quoting tool

Voice enabled e-commerce provider VeCommerce has launched VeQuote, a service which allows insurance customers to access vehicle (comprehensive and third party) and house and contents premium quotes, as well as claims tracking, over the phone by speaking directly to a computer. The application uses a custom-built Australian and New Zealand language model that ensures different accents, tones and speeds are understood and boasts an accuracy rate of over 95 per cent.

Launching VeQuote, Paul Magee, Managing Director of VeCommerce said, "VeQuote allows organisations to answer more insurance premium queries without additional labour costs whilst, more importantly, improving customer satisfaction levels which ultimately translates to gaining market share."

VeQuote's tailored application allows prospective and existing customers seeking insurance policy information and premium quotes to service themselves - over the telephone without the intervention of a call centre agent. The system is suitable for consumers making inquiries about their own requirements as well as for agents making inquiries on behalf of their clients. "For the insurance industry, VeQuote is clearly today's most cost effective and productive quoting tool," said Bryan O'Connell, Managing Director of B@nkFin Consulting, consultants to the banking and finance markets.

O'Connell identifies "customer service as number one priority for the insurance market and the value proposition of VeQuote certainly fits the criteria as it assists organisations deliver performance in excess of expectations."

VeQuote is an ideal application where inbound customer calls are typically high volume, have a low income value and a large proportion represent repetitive requests, such as providing comparative price information. Talking directly to an organisation's host computer systems via VeQuote, existing and prospective customers are able to make inquiries without waiting on hold for call centre agents to attend to them.

The highly intuitive solution 'understands' the spoken request from the customer and provides the quote just like a real person. "Push button systems have come in for flack due to their impersonal and lengthy approach. However, VeCommerce has put some real user friendliness into VeQuote," said O'Connell.

VeQuote makes queuing customers for excessive periods a thing of the past. The high levels of abandoned call rates, missed revenue opportunities and resulting poor customer service image are no longer issues. Beyond this, call centre agents are now able to spend more time on high value transactions and cross promotions. Being highly scalable, VeCommerce's solutions easily allow organisations to deal with growing call volumes.

"We have calculated that there are immediate and significant cost savings of up to 90 per cent per call once VeQuote is implemented," said Magee. "In addition, there is a complementary improvement in the call centre working environment with agents focusing on qualified inquiries instead of simply providing repetitive information."

"VeQuote is another example of our success in Natural Language Speech Recognition technology and how it uniquely increases productivity and revenue while reducing operating costs," said Magee.

Examples of VeQuote at work and other voice enabled e-commerce applications can be found via www.vecommerce.com.au/vequote

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About VeCommerce - the future is hear(tm) VeCommerce Limited (ASX:VCM) is the leading supplier of natural language speech recognition (NLSR) and voice enabled e-commerce solutions in Australia and New Zealand, with over 20 years experience in the communications and call processing industries. It's research and development team is based in Auckland, New Zealand.

VeCommerce's tailored solutions allow people to speak in a natural, conversational tone over the phone. The unique applications it creates allow the computer system to extract the relevant information from the conversation and this enables the transaction or inquiry to be completed automatically.

At the heart of any VeCommerce solution is its application development expertise, skilled and flexible integration specialists and VeCommerce's own multimedia platform, FirstContact. By combining FirstContact with the world's best natural language speech recognition (NLSR) engine from Nuance Communications, VeCommerce is able to provide superior voice enabled e-commerce solutions. To date, it is one of only six Platinum Partners in the Nuance Partner Alliance, and the only one outside North America. This uniquely positions VeCommerce at the forefront of any voice enabled e-commerce solution.

VeCommerce clients include the Australian Tax Office, TAB Queensland, TAB Limited, TABCORP, SATAB, TASTAB, David Jones, Regent Taxis, Telstra Payphones, Caltex, and Mobil Oil.

More information about VeCommerce can be found by visiting the company's web site at www.vecommerce.com.au.

Issued by Consultus New Zealand Ltd On behalf of VeCommerce

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