Online services, mobile application, military risks. How the insurance market has changed

[ad_1]

The main players of the insurance market have stood their ground, are working and gaining momentum. Vyacheslav Gavrylenko, General Director of ARX Life Company, Deputy Chairman of the Board of ARX Insurance, talks about the components of success, business results, and war risk insurance.

Two years of war – a severe test. But after the first shock came the understanding that one cannot reflect and be horrified: we saw the courage of the Armed Forces, the support of shareholders, the stability of the financial system and the readiness of the team to work. It was necessary to save the company, team, clients, partners – and act.

In the middle of 2022, we decided that we should not only keep what we have, but also move forward: in service, sales, continuation of projects. We had to maintain the capital of the company, make payments to clients, help the country and the Armed Forces. It was necessary to work profitably and to focus on leadership positions. Nat the end of 2022 we saw signs of market recovery, and in 2023 this turned into growth in both contracts and premium volumes.

What customers choose

The important question remained: what do customers want from insurance, and what would they refuse? Along with the realization that the insurance market has held up, has come the realization that most traditional insurance products have demand. The country-wide impact of common risks related to transport, real estate, life and health of people remains significant.

And their coverage, despite the horrors of war, is relevant. In conditions of danger, the preservation of property is even more important compared to peacetime – it has become more difficult to earn money on a new car, the price of treatment is increasing.

Customer service during the war should be noted separately. The ability to receive services online, from a safe place, plays an important role. We understood this, which is why we provided a set of services in remote mode: from sales and payments to settlement of losses and other aspects of service. All our online services, website and MyARX mobile application came in handy.

We did a lot during the war to improve MyARX. Because this is exactly what clients, who are used to applications in other areas of life, expected from us. In fact, our application makes insurance paperless, because you can save all your own and family contracts in your smartphone, communicate with the company through the application, and see the progress of your case. It is absolutely clear that the demand for digitization of services will only gain momentum, so we do not stop investing in IT and development.

It is important that not only clients can receive services remotely, but also our employees have been successfully working from anywhere in the world since the first days of the war. This gave us stability, and our employees confidence in the future, because they have the ability to work and do contribution to the struggle of Ukraine.

Our efforts worked, we have good results. In 2023, ARX and ARX Life increased payments by 30% and collected almost UAH 4 billion. Of them, non-life (risk insurance) is almost 3.7 billion with a growth of 34%. In CASCO, where we are #1 on the market, we have almost 2 billion premiums with a growth of 29%. In property insurance, we also take first place and received 433 million payments, an increase of 35%. Life insurance received 308 million payments and increased by 14%.

Military risks are new challenges of the time

Military risks are one of the most urgent and painful issues. They have always been a clear exception and are not covered by reinsurance. However, reality prompts us to look in this direction as well.

Initially, we developed the life insurance product “Bronezakhist” for civilians, which covers both domestic incidents and incidents that occurred during or as a result of military operations.

Then, in CASCO “All Inclusive” we added coverage for damage caused by debris, missiles/drones up to a limit of 10% of the car’s value. And later we realized that we can create a full-fledged, unlimited product. This is how the “Iron Dome” CASCO appeared.

This is a separate program, additional protection to classic CASCO insurance. This product is currently very popular among our customers, because we cover even the total loss of the car, such an offer on the market is limited.

The next step was the launch of insurance against damage caused by debris, missiles/drones of commercial and private real estate up to a limit of 20 million hryvnias per object. These are products with a limited coverage area and with individual approval, because in real estate insurance, the concentration of risks is controlled by the placement of objects.

We are not limited to military risks in the development of new things. Last year they came out of MiniCASCO – the launch was successful, because it is a budget product that covers the main risk on the roads – road accidents.

Another CASCO product with an interesting coating and an attractive price is coming out. It will always be in the DNA of our company – not to stop in development, always to offer something new.

Ingredients of success

The activity of ARX and ARX Life from the beginning of the war to this day is successful (although it looks incredible). Companies are profitable and in good financial condition.

The components of our success are as follows:

• Thanks to the Armed Forces, we are in conditions that allow us to continue life, production, and business (not like before the war, but much better than it could have been).
• The insurance market, like the entire country, is very lucky that the financial system has survived. The NBU acts clearly, efficiently and professionally.
• ARX ​​and ARX Life partnered with a shareholder – the Canadian Fairfax company has supported us since the first days of the war.
• Even before and during COVID-19, we made important investments in IT, security, and other processes.
• The staff feels the reliability of the company, the support of the shareholder, appreciates the help and responds with gratitude. The results confirm this.
• We pay attention to the readiness to work of all divisions and services of the company under the conditions of possible blackouts of light, heat, and communication.
• We are valued by clients and partners who have also experienced the stability of ARX and ARX Life, because in difficult times it is logical to bet on reliability.
• Our focus is primarily not on growth for the sake of growth, but on profitability. This approach allows you to always have sufficient capital, in accordance with the requirements of the NBU, for taxes and assistance to the Armed Forces.

What happens next? It is difficult to make accurate predictions. But we know for sure that in 2024 we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the company. It’s a long way and we are going through it with dignity – ARX is the market leader in many positions, we will keep the bar high in the future.

Social responsibility

In our time, we need to understand that we have not only to do one’s work professionally, and to help the country and the Armed Forces in every possible way. We started doing this in the first week of the full-scale invasion. Already on February 25, 2022, the first 2 million hryvnias were sent to the Armed Forces.

And as of now, UAH 56 million have been transferred to the Armed Forces. We constantly cooperate with the “Come Back Alive” foundation, we support all their important initiatives. We also support in every possible way those company employees who serve in the ranks of the Armed Forces.

Our company is traditionally the largest taxpayer in the insurance market. According to piin 2023, about 762 million taxes were paid. Let’s continue to work and donate – because we believe in Ukraine, its bright future and in her Victory!

[ad_2]

Original Source Link