EDITORIAL Gys Steyn
2010/03/17
Notwithstanding the recession and a difficult business year in most aspects, Europ Assistance SA, with the support of its valued clients was able to grow its business by 15.7% for the year ending 31 December 2009.
As a traditionally B2B company, venturing directly into the consumer market is an exciting new move for EASA. This comes with the recent launch of the Identity Theft product and the planned launch of another product, well suited for the consumer market, during the middle of 2010.
Credit Assist, the latest subsidiary of EASA will bring consumers and corporate South Africa a range of new products. Credit Assist will provide consumers with unlimited access to their credit information held by all South African credit bureaus. The company will also assist and guide them on how best to improve their credit status and therefore increasing their chances of successfully applying for credit in the future.
Through a joint venture with a leading online shopping brand, EASA also brings consumers the convenience and added value of online shopping. Online shopping is becoming an appealing prospect for many South Africans with demanding work schedules. With more than 60 000 products on offer and well known brands (both local and international), we are excited to offer this product to both our clients and general consumers.
During mid 2009, the groundbreaking ID Assist product was launched at the annual IISA conference. The product has now expanded its offering to include ID Assist Replacement Cover which covers the costs related to the replacement of identity documents and ID Assist Disbursement Cover which covers all related ID theft costs. The product is priced competitively and in the current South African climate, a necessity.
The recent partnership with one of the leading Banking Groups through which a Legal Cost Insurance product will be sold to their client base will ensure further growth for our business.
ICE, the new system designed to handle call centre claims and case resolution has been live with the balance of our clients since November 2009. While bugs were encountered, they were well managed and quickly eradicated. The December period, generally considered a high risk period due to abnormally high call volumes was a real test of the new systems capabilities. The system stabilised sufficiently, and no major problems were experienced. We are proud of our dedicated agents who managed more than 1,5 million calls during December 2009.
We remain committed to bringing our clients great products, excellent service and a contribution to 2010 that we can be proud of.
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