Initial trials
The Plain Numbers version sought to communicate the same information in a way that was clearer and easier to understand.
We asked 5 comprehension questions to really prove whether customers understood the communication. We considered someone being able to answer 4 of these questions correctly an example of good understanding.
In this trial questions to participants included:
‘How much will you pay in total if you pay monthly?’ and ‘If you pay monthly, how many separate payments do you make?’
Atlanta Insurance:
payment options
We recruited 1,000 participants representative of the UK population for this trial.
500 people saw an existing communication and 500 saw the Plain Numbers version.
Research results:
Original version, answering
at least 4 questions correctly
Plain numbers version
The Plain Numbers Method in action
Numbers themselves
Relegated’ the FCA-mandated information, which is off-putting and few understand, further down the page.
Numbers in context
Human to Human language, removed technical terms including Vehicle Insurance Premium, New Business Arrangement Fee, commission, Insurance Premium Tax, deposit, credit broker, third party lender, premium finance, annual premium, Deposit Payable, Total Amount Payable, Total Amount of Credit, Representative APR and Interest Rate.
How we think
Enabled customers to make an informed decision about the use of credit by providing like-for-like totals that are close to each other on the page.
View the full research results for Atlanta here.
The Plain Numbers version of the payment options
Click on the image to view the detail.
