In short

• Plain language uses wording, structure and design to make information easy to understand
  and use.
• In addition to enhancing the user experience and SEO, plain language can reduce customer enquiries and misunderstandings, saving insurers time and reducing the number of complaints.
• Rewriting insurance product disclosure statements in plain English can make customer and insurer responsibilities clearer, and helps to ensure you have genuine, informed consent when a customer purchases insurance.

In June 2022, communications firm Ethos CRS released a readability scorecard for 26 Australian insurance companies, reviewing their home and motor insurance product disclosure statements (PDSs), FAQs and websites.

The firm used a tool called VT Writer to measure average sentence length, passive and active voice and the grade reading level of the content.

On average, insurers scored 74 out of 100, with some scoring in the sixties and others — such as NRMA Insurance — achieving scores in the low eighties.

“Our team of accessible information specialists provides clear and concise information by including basic language and grammar, subheadings and simple font and layout, to help our customers understand the services and support we provide,” says an NRMA Insurance spokesperson.

“We have also enhanced the layout and content on our website to allow customers to find information more easily about our products and services, access our support and provide feedback about the accessibility of our services during their experience.”

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