Vienna Insurance Group founds assistance company in Serbia
VIG service companies handle more than 400,000 assistance cases each year
The planned foundation of Global Assistance Belgrad in April 2022 will see Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) continuing to expand dedicated companies for digital customer service. By the end of 2022, VIG Group customers in eleven countries will be supported by the Group's own service companies.
Offering added value
VIG Group's goal is to offer assistance services via its own companies rather than third-party companies. There are two key advantages to this approach, as VIG Managing Board member Harald Riener, who is responsible for assistance, explains: "Firstly, we are creating tangible new supplementary services that we want to offer independently of risk protection. This approach is increasingly important given that the frequency of contact with customers is decreasing, which in turn makes our visibility as an insurance partner all the more crucial. Secondly, with this approach we are able to provide a single-source solution for the entire process, from the quote through to claims management and assistance. The concept creates clear added value for customers, and it allows us to significantly influence and improve service quality by controlling the process cycle for claims management from the first contact through to compensation payments."
A total of eight dedicated companies for eleven countries
The first VIG Group Global Assistance company was launched in the Czech Republic in 2013. Additional companies followed in Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Latvia, and most recently Georgia in autumn 2021. With the launch of this eighth assistance company in Serbia, VIG Group can now serve customers in eleven countries (North Macedonia is supported from Bulgaria, and the Latvian company currently covers all three Baltic states, which will be serviced by the end of 2022 at the latest). So far, more than 400,000 assistance cases have been recorded annually.
State-of-the-art technical solution with comprehensive offering
VIG has a proprietary software system for assistance cases; this system is used by the dedicated assistance companies to organise and process digital services. In addition to managing assistance cases, the VIG companies can monitor customers' service cases with precision using GPS tracking, allowing them to provide assistance as quickly as possible. Furthermore, customers have the option to track the services online and respond efficiently. Since the beginning of 2022, assistance cases within the participating VIG countries can also be processed digitally networked and provide policyholders with fast and precise assistance even when abroad. Whether it's a car accident, a breakdown or an injury suffered during a holiday, the Global Assistance call centre can locate VIG customers as necessary and quickly organise assistance, even if they are on holiday and not in their home country. Assistance services are offered for motor, travel, household and health.
