Sales and service channels

The PZU Group has the largest network of sales and service branches on the Polish market. The organization of the PZU sales network aims to guarantee sales effectiveness, while simultaneously ensuring high quality of services provided.

At the end of 2015, PZU Group distribution network included:

• exclusive agents – PZU own agency network consisted of 9,079 exclusive agents, including individuals performing agency activities. The agency channel conducts sales of mainly mass client insurance, especially motor and non-life insurance, as well as individual insurance (life insurance);
• multiagencies – 3,161 multiagencies work with PZU Group to make sales mainly to the mass client (this channel is used to sell all types of insurance, especially motor insurance and non-life insurance ), as well as individual life insurance;
• insurance brokers –- PZU, in particular the Corporate Customer Division, cooperated with 965 insurance brokers;
• PZU employees – thousands of PZU employees sold insurance (primarily to corporate and group customers) at their own branch offices that underwent a makeover in 2014. They are well-advertised, located in attractive venues, have no architectural barriers, and provide convenient access to all clients;
• bancassurance and strategic partnership programs – PZU Group cooperated with 10 banks and 6 strategic partners in scope of protective insurance in 2015. The partners of PZU Group are the leaders in their fields and have customer bases with great potential. The cooperation in scope of strategic partnerships concerned mainly the companies operating in telecommunications and energy, which were used to offer insurance of electronic equipment and assistance services;
• direct – PZU sells products to individual customers by telephone and over the Internet.

PZU’s customers can file claims or contact us:

• via the Internet;
• by telephone via the Contact Center;
• in person at any branch of their choice;
• in a garage belonging to the PZU Repair Network (in the case of motor claims);
• in the PZU Pomoc mobile office;
• in writing (sent by post, email or fax).

Claims and benefits handling process is conducted at 8 Regional Claims Centers located throughout the country and at the central unit – the Operational Center for Claims and Benefits. Since the process is based mainly on electronic information and the service is performed at a location which is not connected with the place of residence of the insured or the place of the event, the company has implemented the model of an equal workload of individual claims handling units that is automated within the SLS system. The process of handling certain types of claims has been centralized; this results in a higher specialization level and boosts customer satisfaction. The centralization has been introduced i.a. in the following fields: personal claims handling, claims concerning theft of vehicles belonging to individuals, claims handling under the direct claims handling service.

As the first company (to start in April 2014) the direct claims handling (BLS) process on the Polish insurance market, PZU continues to handle claims under that scheme. It realizes it in two forms: individually and under an agreement. By the end of 2015, BLS agreement – drafted by PIU (Polish Chamber of Insurance) – encompassed eight insurance companies, including PZU, which together represent nearly 70% of the motor TPL insurance measured at gross written premium level. Direct claims handling (BLS) under the agreement was implemented in April 2015. Introducing the BLS agreement helped to simplify the settlement of paid claims and claims handling costs between the insurers based on lump-sum schemes. PZU maintained also its earlier BLS solution for its clients who suffered damage at insurance companies that are not parties to BLS.

How did we develop remote communication channels?

The Everest Platform is a modern tool to sell non-life insurance, underwrite insurance risk and manage policies and settlements.

Chat

• By means of this chat service employees of the Contact Center provide information on insurance products that help the Customer navigate through the www.pzu.pl website and suggest how to complete the forms online.
• The next step in the development of this channel will be a dynamic chat, which will respond to customer behavior on the website – e.g. in the situation of his/her lack of action.
• More information: Chat

Video chat

• The Video chat enables a Customer to have meeting with a representative of PZU without leaving home.
• During such a call the Customer may make a claim, obtain information about the status of the liquidation of damage and buy insurance.
• This Video Chat brought us the opportunity to service the deaf and hearing impaired.
• More information: Video chat

Video tips

• Video tips come in many forms, for example: comments from specialists, infographics, manuals.
• We want, thanks to this, to advise Customers that find themselves in various situations or to provide instruction regarding the proper completion of the most widely used web forms.
• We use this not only on the pzu.pl site, but also in e-mail communications.
• More information: Video tips

Callback form

• With it the customer can, during a conversation on the helpline, choose a topic of conversation, leave a phone number and select a time limit within which he or she wishes to be contacted.
• More information: Callback form

Social Media Command Center

• We created the Team to Service and Monitor Social Media, which is responsible for the company’s image in the network and thus also for enhancing its image.
• The team conducts daily monitoring of the internet and of social media, engages in discussion forums, respond to customers’ posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social channels replies to private questions of Customers through a dedicated application Help Center.
• It deals with, among others, topics related to the sale of insurance, claims handling service, the Assistance product, and also with communication, advertising or CSR activities.

Transpromo letters

• This is correspondence by letter, which combine substantive elements (e.g. relating to a transaction) with elements of promotion, offering customers a measurable benefit.
• The whole concept is based on the philosophy of using simple language and its leitmotif is to build positive relationships through contact with customers. Thus, our lists are of more personal in nature, and the client finds in them important information shown with the help of infographics or preventive elements related to safety.

Central address for paper and electronic correspondence

• The centralization of these functions enables the implementation of uniform service standards and tools for the control of the process to answer Customers.
• As a result, Customers are assured that their cases get to where they will be serviced.
• More information: Central adress for paper and electronic correspondence

Under cooperation contracts concluded with the largest network of companies on the Polish market, PZU Group provides car rental, towing, and parking services. PZU actively offers its help in organization of the above services to all customers.

PZU was also the first to introduce its own fleet of replacement cars to the insurance market. The offer covers 300 hybrid Toyota Auris cars, which guarantee comfort and safe and ecological use. This provides a high replacement car availability standard according to market rates, which is dedicated for all PZU clients.

In 2015, PZU continued cooperation with garages in the field of post-accident vehicle repairs. The cooperation with PZU Pomoc Repair Network is intended to ensure the highest quality and repair service standards to all customers who suffered damage. Every client that commissions a vehicle repair at a garage within the PZU network receives a Quality Certificate confirming the top quality of conducted works.

PZU continues to develop its offer when it comes to the management of objects that are left after a damage by providing the clients with an option to sell them on the Pomoc Online platform. The clients are offered to sell the remaining parts at the highest purchase bid price by reliable entities cooperating with the platform administrator.

In order to improve the non-life claims handling process, in 2015 the company continued to organize training sessions which followed the British standards of best practice in claims handling addressed to employees handling non-life claims of corporate clients.

PZU’s branches

For the customer, claims handling process is the moment of truth in contacts with the insurer and an opportunity to test the quality of the purchased product. Satisfying his or her expectations in the claims handling process is the key to building his or her ties with PZU. Therefore, in 2015 extensive measures were taken to improve and shorten the process, such as the implementation of a LEAN culture and the expansion of an automatic and simplified process of claims handling. A process of implementing a Self-handling service was started; the service allows the victim to estimate the amount of compensation in motor and non-life claims and at workshops that repair equipment damaged during overload. Moreover, in 2015 PZU commenced a large-scale introduction of simplified solutions in contacts with clients, e.g. by resigning from traditional letters and a wider use of telephone and electronic communication, but first and foremost by making the language of its correspondence simpler and user- friendly.

Another innovative move was to appoint the Assistance Providers under the name of Organizatorzy Pomocy Poszkodowanym w Wypadkach [Providers of Assistance to Accident Victims]. These are mobile employees who meet with the victims in their houses and determine the actual life situation and the needs related to the accident they suffered from and for which PZU is liable. Provided assistance includes, among others, organization of medical, social, vocational and psychological rehabilitation in a broad sense. Assistance Providers advise on how to adjust place of residence to meet the needs of a disabled person, as well as how to choose proper systems compensating for dysfunctions and disabilities. They also provide assistance in completing all the formalities connected with claims handling. They assist in obtaining benefits and establishing contacts with government institutions (PFRON [National Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Fund], ZUS [Social Insurance Institution], KRUS [Farmer’s Social Security Fund], MOPS [Municipal Social Services Center] and MOPR [Municipal Family Support Center]). They also provide psychological support to the immediate family members of the victim.

As an innovation-driven company, PZU provided its clients with an access to a mobile application which allows the insured to select the type of claim handling or accident insurance benefits at any given time. The service was addressed to the clients who often find it difficult to pick up the phone during working hours or need more time to think about the proposed claim payment. The tool allows the insured easily and conveniently participate in the decision-making process concerning the contribution payment, and speeds us the entire process by a quick contact with the Consultant.

The company is focusing on service improvement, therefore, it strongly appreciates customer feedback. Customer satisfaction surveys are conducted via the application. The customers’ replies suggest that the clients are highly satisfied with the change. The insured perceive the change in a positive way and point out to the improved claims handling process and accident insurance benefits.

Another example of a pro-customer activity implemented by PZU in 2015 is a visual representation of claims handling his or her claim/issue at www.pzu.pl , the Client can learn how many stages the PZU claims handling process involves, become familiar with every stage, and check his or her claim/ issue status, as well as see which activities have already been realized. Additionally, the client can freely change notification settings concerning his or her claim/issue so that the system sends a status update to a designated email address or phone number.

The www.pzu.pl website features also a video with tips related to online claims handling. Short videos depict PZU employees showing the clients how quickly file a claim, change its status, or how to use the accident insurance in the case of an accident. PZU – Video tips – Online claims handling.

The quality of claims handling process and benefits payment at PZU is highly valued by the clients. At the end of Q4 2015, satisfaction rate reached 84%1. Meanwhile, NPS (Net Promoter Score), a recommendation index being the difference between the proportion of promoters and critics participating in the survey for claims handling sector amounted to 20%, while 46% of consumers surveyed indicated that they were active promoters of PZU.

IT and operations

The Everest Platform is a modern tool to sell non-life insurance, underwrite insurance risk and manage policies and settlements.

Everest Platform is a state-of-the-art tool that facilitates sales of non-life insurance, assessment of insurance risk, and management of policies and settlements, which is being implemented by PZU since 2014. By using the platform, the Group will be able to distribute information faster, which will enable the agents to better recognize and understand the needs of clients from different segments. Introducing improved and more advanced solutions to the working environment of the Group’s agents and employees, Everest stages in the Online Claim/Issue Status. After logging to platform helps boost operational effectiveness, which in turn increases possibilities of presenting a competitive offer to the clients.

In 2014, according to the assumed schedule, PZU introduced motor, household, and some property products into the new system. In 2015, remaining non-life products and first corporate insurances were introduced. For the most part of 2015, external sales channels (multiagents, dealers) were prepared to work with the new system. Pre-implementation and information meetings for future users of the Everest platform, as well as training to prepare staff for working with the system, were held in all external sales channels. Pilot programs were initiated to test if the conditions for smooth and timely implementation have been met. At the same time, in April and June 2015, surveys were held to check the satisfaction level of the users and learn their opinion on the new system.

At the moment, there are over 19 thousand users working at the Everest platform, including all branch employees, exclusive agents, agents-partners, and office workers. More than 13 million policies have been issued in the new system so far, including over 8 million in 2015 alone. The full implementation of the new policy system is planned to be finished in the third quarter of 2016.

In 2015, in addition to operating activities and working on Everest project, the Technology Division implemented internal strategic initiatives, which consisted of the development of a series of activities supporting key business initiatives, especially the following:

• as an adjustment of the IT and security system to requirements of external acts, the process of Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) requirements implementation is highly advanced and will allow to satisfy the requirements as planned until the end of 2016;
• IT systems were adjusted to report in accordance with requirement of Solvency II directive;
• in the field of management reporting, the Baltic companies were subject to periodical reporting and the management information system was extended to cover PZU Group subsidiaries;
• using agile methodology of software development was continued and extended.

1 Change in sample selection methodology since the 2015 survey