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Mondial Assistance Annual Report 2008 25
leading tour operators. We’ve been very
successful in developing sales of our
on-line warranty and travel insurance
products. Continuous improvement is
part of our daily vocabulary and for 2008
this was no exception. So that we can
help you better and faster, we signifi-
cantly improved our call centre efficiency
and automatic dispatch processes to our
technicians in the field. Today, our UK
business unit is among the region’s top
three providers of dedicated roadside
assistance, travel insurance administra-
tion and automotive warranty. You should
also know that we focused a great deal
in 2008 on developing our people and in
investing in technology. HR and Internal
Communications offered strong support
for in-house training. The old adage «a
little goes a long way» is absolutely
true. Our simple actions reinforced
staff Engagement and Loyalty, and
maximized productivity. Today we are
recognized for our excellent customer
services and successfully implementing
innovative change; staff turnover is way
down, well below the industry average,
and our operating results are strong.
channels will be key for our future growth.
We also saw a big boost in demand for
healthcare. Popular among newcomers
are medical consulting, medical triage
and disease management products.
Turkey: We’ve come a long way...
We’ve come a long way with our Turkish
business unit, and 2008 was a fine
example of the progress we’ve made.
Our turnover grew by more than 30%
and we achieved a combined ratio of
93%! Perhaps equally as rewarding – we
received a prize for Home Assistance!
We can confidently say today that we are
looking forward to sustainable growth
in the future. We’ve set our sights on
wider horizons too. With our new entity,
Mondial Assistance Insurance, we have
entered the insurance sector and will
soon have full insurance capability. We
are pursuing the medical and assistance
businesses in regions like Azerbaijan
and Georgia. Through an internal IT
tool, the Eureka Project, we made great
cost containment achievements in the
medical sector. As a result, our business
units in Germany, France, Holland and
Belgium come through us to manage
their medical and technical files.
We continue to make gains in both the
banking and automotive sectors, and
recently signed agreements with two
major automobile brands. This positive
dynamic is not just a feeling. It’s real,
reflected in our improved NPS rating and
growing staff.
UK and Ireland: Booming
e-commerce and streamlined
processes
2008 was a challenging year for our
UK and Irish business units due to the
economic downturn. But in the end
we maintained our final annual results.
We made new business wins throughout
the year. Among them is one of the UK’s
Middle East & Africa:
Reinforcing the core business
Throughout 2008, we supported Allianz
in developing its activities in Africa and
the Middle East by providing quality tra-
vel insurance. Our aim is to help as many
people as possible, so we took appro-
priate action. We furthered our relations
with existing partners in the Near East,
including Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.
And we began developing services for
new partners in the Gulf countries, focu-
sing particularly on insurers, banks and
airlines.