Módulo 3: Estructura Organizacional
3. Marketing Operativo
With the early transition from an expenses refund pro- vider to a comprehensive legal services company, we have reacted early to the challenges posed in the legal protec- tion insurance market. Opportunities deriving from the future increase of legal protection needs in respect of the 2nd Court Costs Modernisation Act, increasing digitalisa- tion and changes in the age structure of society will be taken into account in our strategy and used to consolidate our position both as innovation and market leader in legal protection. To what extent we will be able continue to complement classic legal protection products with legal services elements or introduce new legal services products will depend on the development of the legal framework parameters.
There will be opportunities for growth in the Eastern European markets, which are still not fully saturated, as well as in China, India and South East Asia. With its inter- nationalisation strategy ERGO predominantly focuses on these strong growth markets, having set important milestones during 2013. In China the life insurance seg- ment started operating in autumn of 2013. In India we are establishing a joint venture with the Avantha Group, allowing ERGO to enter the Indian life insurance market. In addition, we intend to penetrate a number of attractive Southeast Asian markets.
With the brand promise “to insure is to understand”, ERGO will continue to advance with resolution on the chosen path. Our strong focus on customers’ needs is an impor- tant distinguishing feature in the market, presenting us with further opportunities for growth.
In cooperation with its sales partners ERGO follows a coherent consulting approach, based on an analysis of the individual circumstances of each customer. This tool was introduced in 2013 and has been comprehensively applied in all sales organisations, ensuring a consistently high standard of customer care throughout.
We make use of the potential of both our employees and our sales partners. Our targeted HR development activi- ties ensure their consistent and well-aimed development. Our employees and sales partners ensure our success with their expertise and commitment. This ultimately benefits our customers too. Our goal is to extend our high level of quality and performance in order to seize opportunities in the competition.
Customers increasingly use both classic and online chan- nels when buying insurance products. In order to serve this growing target group, ERGO will expand direct marketing and offer products in a demand-based manner through a number of channels. In 2013, it was already possible to take out a number of covers in the health insurance and property insurance segments online. Here, ERGO relies on the expertise of ERGO Direkt and makes use of the Group- wide exchange of knowledge. The increasing use of online and digital channels also takes place in ERGO’s research and development activities. The consumer behaviour of customers in saturated markets is increasingly driven by the use of digital offers. Apart from the classic sales channels, a large number of customers increasingly use online channels and digital services in order to interact with insurance companies. Their number will increase continually over the next few years. Accordingly, ERGO makes significant investments in so-called e-services and has already implemented various measures. The goal is to enable customers to access services and products in the various sales channels in accordance with their specific needs. In addition, we will optimise our online services to make them more compatible with mobile devices. We have recognised and made use of the opportunities offered by sustained environmental protection. We employ a comprehensive environmental management system in all our locations. In our core business activities, we consider aspects of sustainability as a market opportunity. Consequently, we take into account ethical, social and ecological aspects in our capital investments. With these and other measures we live up to our social responsibilities. Our customers therefore benefit from the sustainability of our activities in a variety of ways.
ERGO Insurance Group
Annual Report 2013
44
The following assessment and comments on the likely development of our Company, including the main opportu- nities and risks, are made to the best of our knowledge and belief. They are based on a host of findings currently avail- able relating to prospects for the industry, future economic and political parameters, as well as trends of development and the main factors influencing them. All of this may of course change in the future without this being foreseeable at the present time. The actual development of the Com- pany and its results might therefore diverge considerably from the forecasts. This section even includes information on how the outcomes of the year covered by this report differ from the predictions made last year.
All in all, looking ahead at the upcoming financial year, we continue to anticipate a positive trend for the business of the ERGO Insurance Group. This assessment is based on a number of expectations which take into account the main opportunities and risks, our economic environment and our strategic alignment.