Internationalisation presents large questions about placement process–Austria

Olaf Köhler, Risk and Insurance Manager at ÖBB, the Austrian railway network, said that internationalisation is still a major risk for him and that in his company’s case this means other European countries to the east of Austria such as Romania and Hungary. In such countries there are different structures and cultures and major changes are needed because it is ‘very old school’ said Mr Köhler. The integration of new companies is therefore a challenge and not least from an insurance buying perspective, said the risk manager. “For example, you need to buy insurance for group companies because you have to bundle offices together, and to use group purchasing you need to do this,” he said.hideThe integration of new companies is therefore a challenge and not least from an insurance buying perspective, said the risk manager. “For example, you need to buy insurance for group companies because you have to bundle offices together, and to use group purchasing you need to do this,” he said. “One solution we have discovered for this is Inex24 which enables the negotiation and placement of coverage online. Why are we using this? Because it is very important for us to integrate companies in other countries to help tender these covers. You can manage this from Vienna and still give your colleagues in Budapest and Bucharest the opportunity to take part in the process which is positive,” he continued. Michael Kleiter-Bingel, Regional Manager Austria & CEE at XL Insurance, was not so keen. “Personally I do not rate Inex24 because it is a boiler plate approach for volume business. If you look at motor risks and the broader spectrum of less complex risks maybe such a system is relevant for reducing the overheads and simplifying the process. But for the large industrial market this is untested,” he said. Mr Kleiter-Bingel added that for the mass insurance market, such an approach may be helpful to streamline broker workflow. But, in his opinion, for the in-house broker, who usually deals with complex, unique and large international risks, a tailored approach is more ‘appropriate’. Mr Köhler said that he appreciated the insurer’s points but pointed out that ÖBB operates in a tightly regulated system because it belongs to the state. “Therefore, when it comes to tendering we really have to test the market, wordings and the like. We are healthily sceptical about this but must test it,” he said. Martin Cerny, Facility & Resource Management Insurance at A1 Telekom Austria, said that he believes that ÖBB is in a completely different position to his company because it uses a broker for all insurance activities and so all tenders and the communication with insurers are outsourced. Klaus Grothe of Andritz, which is also not a state-owned company, said that it has experienced enough resources to define what it wants but still relies on brokers to approach the appropriate markets, and holds its own independent discussions. “I don’t think an electronic tool covers our needs. It is a brilliant system to buy the nuts and bolts coverage. But an insurance policy is a virtual product and you only realise what you have when the first claim hits. So I think an electronic platform will make it difficult to explain what is behind the policy,” he said. Mr Kleiter-Bingel concurred with the risk manager, stressing the need for face-to-face interaction. “The fact is that risk is changing. The risk landscape is changing and there are new risks that companies face today that were not there before or experienced before as they are today. For this you need personal interaction and trust to reach the right solution,” he said.

Internationalisation presents large questions about placement process–Austria

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