Our People in Action 2009

ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRES LEAD TO LOWER PREMIUMS

“We want to encourage and reward our customers for reducing their environmental footprint. Since 2007, road haulage customers who complete a safety questionnaire have qualified for lower premiums, and in 2009 we extended this to include an environmental questionnaire.

"We’ve combined the two because we think they go hand-in-hand, as safer driving leads to lower fuel consumption which has a positive impact on the environment. The questionnaire explores what customers are doing to reduce their emissions. By offering them lower premiums, we hope to encourage them to improve safety and reduce environmental impacts.”

Lars Nilsson, Claims Prevention Manager (Commercial Lines), Sweden

INSURING COLOMBIA’S LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS

“We’ve been working with our underwriters and affinity partners to develop a range of products specially designed for low-income households. They provide basic levels of cover for low-value items at low premiums that are paid monthly. We are targeting people who, for financial reasons, have traditionally been excluded from the protection insurance offers.

"We have an active engagement team who work to raise awareness among low-income communities and a sales team including 120 agents from the communities we are trying to reach. They wear uniforms and are supported by specially designed marketing material to build recognition of us and our partners. We aim to be the market leader for low-income insurance in Colombia. To date, we have 550,000 policyholders and 80% of our customers are from lower economic groups.”

Lilian Perea Ronco, Affinity Vice-President, Colombia

LOW-COST ACCIDENT COVER SUPPORTS CHARITY VOLUNTEERS

“Volunteers play a vital role in the charitable sector by supporting fundraising activities and helping with projects. However, a lack of affordable accident insurance for volunteers means a chunk of charities’ funds are swallowed up by high premiums. Recognising this gap in the market, we worked with the Swedish Employers’ Association for Non-Profit Organisations (IDEA) to design a unique, low-cost accident insurance policy for volunteers.

"It’s already proved popular and we have agreements in place with 29 IDEA member organisations, insuring close to 9,000 volunteers. It’s very satisfying being able to help charities that support some of society’s most vulnerable groups. We hope the product will strengthen our relationship with IDEA and lead to other products specially designed for member organisations.”

Karin Berglund, Product Specialist, Sweden

THE ART OF TREATING CUSTOMERS FAIRLY

“Brilliant service is about making sure we learn from our mistakes and understand why they happened. We investigate all complaints to fix any systemic causes and to ensure we consistently improve the way we do business. In such a competitive market it is vitally important customers are treated fairly at every stage, from buying a policy to making a claim.”

Angela Trezise, Risk and Compliance, UK

SUPPORTING JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT

“I wanted to get involved with the local community and volunteering with Junior Achievement sounded like a great way to do this. I taught a class of school children in a five-week programme called ‘Our Families’, which discussed the role of families in the local economy. Junior Achievement aims to cut the number of students dropping out of school before they get their leaving certificate by teaching them life skills and encouraging them to think about their personal goals. For me, the main challenge was standing up in front of the class and ensuring that I kept the children entertained. The support I got, including advance training and a comprehensive course outline, was invaluable. All I had to do was prepare well before each lesson.

" As well as classroom teaching, we hosted a company visit for the students. While they toured the building, Philip Smith, Chief Executive of RSA Ireland, dropped by to have a chat. I found the experience very rewarding, both personally and professionally. I would be happy if even one or two children took something away from the class that I gave.”

Pricilla Markey, Finance and Facilities

MANAGING REDUNDANCIES

“The decision to close a site is never taken lightly, but when RSA closed our Bristol site in 2009, it was my job to ensure that we got exactly the right balance between meeting the needs of our people and the business. The tough economic climate meant that our normal approach to helping people through redundancy would not be enough. So we created a multiagency taskforce involving RSA, the union Unite, government agencies, local education institutions, employers and a specialist outplacement support provider.

"This group provided every manner of support possible to our employees to enable them to get the best out of a difficult situation. As a result, 80% of our staff left with either a new job or an education opportunity to go to. The numbers are not the whole story though. The real impact was felt in the way our staff kept dealing with customers with pride and professionalism right up until the day they left. This showed that, even in times of massive uncertainty, dealing with our people in a compassionate and considered way is actually good for business as well as the individuals affected.”

Paul Sweet, HR Business Partner

CODAN HEALTH WEEK

“At Codan, we dedicated an entire week to inspiring our employees to get healthy through activities and specially prepared healthy food. It was a great success, involving departments from HR, the CR team and canteen. At the end of the week, 50 new employees joined the ‘Codan Motion’ health club, giving them access to the work fitness room and sports offers. Our satisfaction survey results have also improved since health week. Not only does the week improve health; it helps to motivate and engage employees in their daily work.”

Lonni Klausen, HR consultant

CARBON MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR HOME WORKERS

“Our environmental impacts don’t stop at the office door and we’re working with home workers to help them cut their carbon emissions. As part of a pilot project we distributed energy saving guidelines and installed energy meters at participants’ homes to help them become more aware of their energy use. The meters are a powerful way of demonstrating how small changes can make a collective impact on energy use, leading to lower energy bills. I first became involved as a home worker and was asked to coordinate the second phase of the pilot.

"Every couple of weeks we send participants tips on cutting energy use, along with articles on relevant issues to keep them motivated. We’ve received a positive response and have seen an average reduction of one tonne of CO2 per participant. For me, the greatest satisfaction comes from seeing people make small changes to their daily lives that result in lower emissions. It’s allowed them to realise how they too can make an impact on climate change.”

Patrick Behan, Engineer Surveyor, Ireland

ENCOURAGING ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

“‘Every little helps!’ That was the message we wanted employees to take away from our second Climate Week in December. We aimed to show employees that even small actions – such as eating vegetarian once in a while, reusing your coffee cup or even buying second-hand clothing – can together make a real impact on climate change. The event took place across our Scandinavian operations and coincided with the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. The whole week generated a real buzz with a lot of talk revolving around the issues being discussed at the conference. A competition organised with our partner, WWF, received 140 excellent entries.”

Anna Snell & Charlotta Gustafsson Project Managers, Sweden

SUSTAINABLE CLAIMS

“We’re meeting our own corporate responsibility goals and helping customers achieve theirs by encouraging more sustainable building practices. Green Reconstruction is an extension to existing commercial policies. It provides cover for policy holders to rebuild or replace damaged property with products, designs and processes that are more sustainable.”

Karen Olivella, Custom Risk Solutions Consultant & Molly Fitzpatrick, National Underwriting Leader Mid Market Commercial Insurance, Canada