Additional tied-agent organisation for Deutscher Ring Leben and Sach
Basel/Hamburg, 28 January 2010. A new additional tied-agent organisation (tied-agent organisation) is being established for the German Baloise subsidiaries Deutscher Ring Lebensversicherungs-AG (DR Leben) and Deutscher Ring Sachversicherungs-AG (DR Sach).
The joint Deutscher Ring tied-agent organisation will be retained alongside the new organisation; nothing will change for sales partners. This decision follows a final deadline set by DR Leben for Signal Iduna and its associate Deutscher Ring Krankenversicherungsverein a.G. (DR Kranken) with the aim of reaching an amicable solution with respect to the tied-agent organisation. Through this step, DR Leben/Sach were reacting to a conspicuously high rate of defection by sales partners and to Signal Iduna’s commitment to employing executives and sales partners from the tied-agent organisation shared by the three Deutscher Ring companies.
Signal Iduna's actions put jobs at risk
Frank Grund, CEO of DR Leben and Sach, commented: "Signal Iduna’s decision to hire sales staff from the existing joint tied-agent organisation not only puts jobs in danger at DR Leben/Sach, but also at DR Kranken. In the interests of our sales partners, our employees in Hamburg and not least our customers, we have thus drawn up a clear plan for a separate additional tied-agent organisation."
DR Leben/Sach follow their own sales path to safeguard sales capacity and growth prospects
"Signal Iduna has not reacted to the deadline", adds Martin Strobel, CEO of the Baloise Group. "We are now acting to safeguard and further expand sales capacity."
DR Leben/Sach will now follow their own sales path. In order to retain their sales capacity and thus the prospect of future growth, they are setting up their own additional DR Leben/Sach tied-agent organisation in which sales partners will have just one contract with DR Leben. DR Leben will provide sales partners in the new tied-agent organisation with an extensive product range that will include attractive health insurance products alongside the products offered by DR Leben and DR Sach. DR Leben/Sach have proposed that DR Kranken should become a product partner for health insurance in the new additional tied-agent organisation. If DR Kranken and its affiliated partner Signal Iduna reject this offer, a strong alternative partner for health insurance is waiting in the wings: HanseMerkur Krankenversicherung AG, also based in Hamburg.
"We are delighted that such an attractive health insurer is available as an alternative sales partner", says Frank Grund. "HanseMerkur's products are well positioned on the market, as confirmed by extremely dynamic growth in the number of fully insured policyholders in the past years."
The well proven commission system used in the existing shared tied-agent organisation will be retained with one along the same lines in the new additional tied-agent organisation.
Offer to continue the existing joint tied-agent organisation issued in December
The joint Deutscher Ring tied-agent organisation includes the independent sales partners who sell products exclusively for DR Leben, DR Sach and DR Kranken. It is part of the multi-channel sales system operated by the Deutscher Ring companies, which includes partner operations (OVB and Zeus) and brokers in addition to the joint tied-agent organisation. The sales partners in the joint tied-agent organisation each have two contracts – one with DR Leben through which sales of property insurance are also handled, and one with DR Kranken. The previously legally independent DR Kranken merged with Signal Iduna in April 2009 to form a group of companies that are legally separate entities but under unified control. Signal Iduna is a direct competitor of Baloise. A proposal was sent to Signal Iduna back in December allowing for the continuation of the joint tied-agent organisation by DR Leben/Sach alone and the exclusive sale of DR Kranken products as part of a general agency contract.
Move to safeguard sales capacity initially independent of the separation of the companies
The establishment of an additional tied-agent organisation is intended to safeguard the sales capacity of DR Leben/Sach and is initially independent of the general separation of the DR companies. The Baloise Group is standing by the proposal that it made to Signal Iduna and the authorities back in December and that it presented to the public on 13 January, and continues to favour an amicable separation.
More information
Baloise, based in Basel/Switzerland, is a European provider of insurance and pension solutions. Its unique selling point is intelligent prevention under the “Safety World” brand. In Switzerland it operates as a focused financial services provider, combining insurance and banking. Its other markets are Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Croatia and Serbia. Its sales network includes its own sales organisation, brokers and other partners. Its innovative pension products for private customers throughout Europe are driven by the Baloise competence centres in Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.
Shares in Bâloise Holding Ltd. are quoted on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The Baloise Group employs some 9,400 people.
Deutscher Ring Lebensversicherungs-AG and Deutscher Ring Sachversicherungs-AG, which have their headquarters in Hamburg, joined the Swiss Baloise Group in 1985. They posted gross premiums of 757 million euros in 2008 with a workforce of around 1,400 employees.