Customer proximity using local management
Vienna Insurance Group uses local management to get closer to customers than others. The local managers and employees of the VIG companies in each country know the needs of the people in their region the best and can therefore also act quickly in the interests of all their customers. Instead of viewing the CEE region as homogeneous, VIG takes into account the structural differences and stages of development of the different insurance markets. As a result, business models are not simply transferred from one country to another without change. Products and distribution must instead be appropriate for the situation in each individual market and must be custom-tailored to meet the specific needs of local customers.
Complaint management
Customer satisfaction is the number one priority for Vienna Insurance Group. If a customer or consumer representative is nevertheless dissatisfied with a product or service provided by a Group company, they can quickly and easily turn to a central point of contact for the company. These contacts are responsible for the complaint process as a whole and are located directly in the managing board team or in company units close to the managing board.
Donau Versicherung as an example of complaint management
Donau Versicherung has had a central complaint management department for many years that expertly and reliably responds to concerns raised by customers and consumer representatives. Although the customer advisor is the first point of contact and many questions can be answered by the experts at the call centre, this ombudsman's office plays an important role in responding to highly specific customer issues and requests. At the same time, it functions as an independent intermediary between functional departments and people with complaints.
Donau Versicherung expanded and further improved its complaint service in 2013. The central ombudsman's office and regional contacts were given a new electronic system that further improved complaint entry and processing. The central complaint management department is able to immediately access all necessary information. This means that customers throughout Austria can be given information at the push of a button. Analytical evaluation of criticism received also helps the company find out what customers think about its products and procedures and the source of any dissatisfaction. As a result, the ombudsman's office views complaints first and foremost as an opportunity to make improvements that are in the customers' interest and therefore also in the interests of the company.
Customer satisfaction
“We are the leading insurer in the CEE region – due to customer proximity and our customer-orientation” – this basic concept is firmly anchored in the Vienna Insurance Group mission statement and expresses the importance of customer-orientation. This concept is also applied in practice, as shown by the many awards received by VIG companies for outstanding products and services. Here are a few examples:
- The highly renown daily newspaper “Hospodářské noviny” publishes an annual ranking of leading Czech financial services companies. In 2013, Kooperativa received first place for non-life insurance companies, as well as second place in the “Most Customer-Friendly Non-Life Insurance Company” category.
- In 2013, UNION Biztosító received an award for service quality in business property insurance from the Association of Independent Insurance Brokers (FBAMSZ), whose members represent around 60% of this market.
- The Bulgarian Vienna Insurance Group companies received awards in two of seven categories in the “Insurance Company of the Year 2013” competition organised by the Bulgarian Association of Insurance Brokers (BAIB). Bulstrad Non-Life was chosen as the “Fairest Insurance Company in 2013” for quick payment of claims due to personal injury covered by motor liability insurance. Bulstrad Life received an award for “Life Insurance Company of the Year 2013”.
Further awards and official recognition of VIG companies are provided in the country reports section of this report.