Letter from the Chairman
Ladies and Gentlemen,
For the Czech insurance market, 2016 was a time of growth in non-life insurance, stagnation in life insurance and highly-paced change driven by the availability of new technologies. If the Company is to be successful in such a landscape, it needs to respond flexibly to changes and deliver its services swiftly, competently and professionally. I am delighted that we accomplished this in the past year.
Besides serving as a strong and traditional partner on whom customers can rely when circumstances take a turn for the worse, we are also keen to be an innovator generating maximum added value. Česká pojišťovna’s activities have thus long centred on steadfastly enhancing customer convenience, improving efficiency and, most importantly, speeding up claim settlements and delivering a positive customer experience.
To achieve this, in the past year we once again channelled much of our energy into advanced technology, the digitisation of processes and paperless communication. The introduction of biometric signatures at all branches meant that customers enjoyed faster service and greater ease of convenience during the contracting process. Live chat support is another feature that makes it simpler for customers to communicate with the Company. A further important innovation meriting special attention is the use of Company drones for claim settlements, making it much easier to carry out complex in situ damage assessments. This reduces the time taken to find solutions.
As far as products are concerned, car insurance has been expanded with the marketing of vanity plate insurance. We have introduced new children’s life insurance and come up with the important new Můj majetek (My Property) product. Česká pojišťovna has also rolled out innovations in travel insurance and block of flats insurance. We launched the Customer Club, offering loyal customers appealing bonuses and premium services.
Severe frosts early on in the year caused extensive damage, especially to farmers. In May and June, the country was beset by heavy storms, compounded by intense hail, torrential rain and local flooding. The raging elements resulted in thousands of claims across the country, with Česká pojišťovna customers alone filing more than 13,000. In the face of this natural disaster, we rose to the occasion courtesy of the extremely hard work and wide-ranging experience of our experts. By settling claims in standard times, we showed customers that they are insured with the market’s strongest insurer.
Česká pojišťovna’s prominence is also borne out by the cavalcade of awards conferred on it in numerous prestigious competitions. In the extremely tough Hospodářské noviny poll, Česká pojišťovna came top in one of the two main categories when it was named Best Insurance Company 2016. We also chalked up success in the 15th annual Fincentrum Bank of the Year competition and in the Sodexo Employer of the Year contest, where we were singled out as the best employer of up to 5,000 employees in Prague.
On behalf of the Česká pojišťovna management, I would like to thank all colleagues who contributed with their enthusiasm and hard work to our shared success and helped to keep us at the forefront of the highly competitive Czech insurance market. I am also grateful to our business partners for their custom and I am confident that our fruitful cooperation will continue in 2017.
A special thank-you belongs to all of our customers. The trust they place in us is extremely valuable and acts as a commitment motivating us to keep working steadfastly on delivering high-quality products and services that are consistently beyond their expectations.
Marek Jankovič
Chairman of the Board of Directors