Car lover’s dream job up for grabs

10 July, 2016

We all know working at an insurance company is boring, right? You’d be just another nameless employee stuck wearing a suit in an ivory tower … or would you?

The car lover’s insurance company, Classic Cover, couldn’t be further removed from that stereotype. They’re small, they don’t wear suits, and certainly don’t occupy a 20-story tower in the heart of the city.

They’re actually car lovers like you and I, except they work in the insurance industry — after all, it doesn’t pay that badly.

And now, due to their ever-increasing popularity with other car and motorbike lovers, they’re looking for staff.

The job that they’ve got up for grabs is a Client Support role, in which you’d be responsible for providing effective client service and support through all aspects of the role, including claims, solving client queries, processing of renewals, endorsements, and new business. 

It’s a busy role as you’ll spend the bulk of your time dealing directly with clients, so obviously you’ll not only have to be a great communicator, you’ll also need to know your way around developing and maintaining relationships with clients, providing quotes, and processing policies and claims, so experience in the insurance industry would be an advantage, but isn’t essential. 

What is essential is that you know your cars, love your cars, can work hard, and are willing to learn. Excellent time management and the ability to provide the highest standard of client service, with a focus on quality outcomes, are also necessary, along with an exceptional phone manner and proven ability to build rapport with clients. Essentially you need to be the person that, if you were the customer, you’d love to deal with. 

There’s plenty of hard work involved, but you’ll be working with a great team who also enjoy cars as well as a good laugh, and there’s great potential for career progression.

If this role sounds like something you would be interested in, fire through a CV and cover letter to [email protected]z

Breakfast of champions – Brink

Some older readers may recall the amusing late 60s advertisement for a breakfast drink using World Champion racing driver Graham Hill which was made while he was out here competing in the Tasman Series.
“Drink Brink” was the phrase, subtly altered by Graham’s characteristic lisp into “Dwink Bwinkl” which drew a grin or two.
Southland Mini racing enthusiast Howard Kingsford-Smith has preserved a little bit of Mini racing history when he re-created the “Brink Mini” some 25 years ago.
“I bought what remained of the original car and made a replica I suppose or look-a-like of the original Brink Mini from Cathy Henderson about 25 years ago,” Howard explained.

The motor car as an art form

We have certainly come a long way since the exhibition entitled 8 Automobiles, shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in the autumn of 1951, the first exhibition concerned with the aesthetics of motor car design.
It was here that the often-used term ‘rolling sculpture’ was coined by curator Philip C Johnson, director of the department of architecture and design, when he said, “An automobile is a familiar 20th century artefact, and is no less worthy of being judged for its visual appeal than a building or a chair. Automobiles are hollow, rolling sculptures, and their design refinements are fascinating. We have selected cars whose details and basic design suggest that automobiles, besides being America’s most useful objects, could be a source of visual experience more enjoyable than they now are.”