Allianz Insurance Ghana, a subsidiary of Allianz Group, has launched a consumer-reward campaign to recompense loyal consumers of the company’s insurance products.
The promotion dubbed ‘Allianz Cares’, aims at giving free branded Allianz first aid kits to customers who purchase a motor, home or personal accident insurance packages from Allianz Insurance Company.
Darlington Munhuwani, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Allianz Insurance, noted that the promotion is to raise awareness in terms of risk management. He explained that the purpose of the promotion is to showcase the fact that insurance is not only about taking money but to correspondingly give practical gifts to the insured and their love ones.
“We are talking about loyalty, reward and safety in the form of support, which is the Allianz Cares safety kit.”
Darlington Munhuwani
Mr Munhuwani opined that the promotion is customer driven. According to him, the campaign is based on the insights received throughout the company’s years of existence. Meanwhile, he boasted that his outfit believes in their products saying “we are a customer-centric organisation.”
Besides, the Chief Executive Officer suggested that in building the insurance industry, it is important to build trust, loyalty and transparency. This, he claimed is because, the company collects premiums, invest them and give it back in the form of claims.
According to the Allianz Insurance CEO, loyalty in an insurance business is very important as it could not be bought but, achieved as a result of services provided throughout the years.
“To my colleagues, don’t go and sell the kit but rather the services, which is you and the service the company provides”.
Darlington Munhuwani
However, the Senior Manager at the office of the Commissioner of National Insurance Commission (NIC), Stella Jonah, asserted that insurance underwriters are facing challenges in retaining their customers. This, she attributed to some insurance products being similar. As a result, she observed that prospective policyholders are finding it difficult to differentiate between the products offered by insurers, thereby, causing some insurers to compete on price.
According to Mrs Jonah, although this might seem like a short-term solution, there is a negative impact on profitability and the ability to pay claims promptly in the long-run.
The Senior Manager also iterated that the growth of an insurance company is hinged on the trust and confidence of the clients. So, in order to sustain the growth, the insurer is expected to meet the risk needs of clients through innovative ways.
Mrs Jonah further noted that loyalty and retention are important tools needed to meet or exceed the policyholder’s expectations. She added that “retaining customers and building customer loyalty is good for any insurance business in terms of the cost of managing accounts and the opportunity for referral business.”
The upsurge in population, rising incomes and the relatively low insurance penetration rate in Ghana is an indication of growth opportunities in the Ghanaian insurance market, Mrs Jonah said.
Conclusively, Mrs Jonah advised insurance companies to focus on strengthening solvency, protecting policyholders’ interest and creating an enabling environment that encourages the development of products that respond to customers’ needs.
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