SAO PAULO, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Lightning strikes 50 million times a year in Brazil, and thousands of houses catch fire. Last year alone, more than 4 million cell phones were stolen in the country. Every day people are attacked by dogs.
Everyone knows that something can happen to their car, but people don't think of unexpected things happening to their house. According to the Datafolha Research Institute (Instituto de Pesquisa Datafolha), 95% of all residences in Brazil do not have insurance, 58% of all cars do not have coverage and 88% of all people do not have life insurance.
Thinking of the enormous potential to be tapped, the GRUPO SEGURADOR BANCO DO BRASIL E MAPFRE (Banco do Brasil and Mapfre Insurance Group), the leading insurer in the Brazilian market in the areas where it operates, made up of the insurance operations of the Banco do Brazil, a government enterprise, and those of the Spanish company MAPFRE, is being innovative once again. The "Family Always Protected" project consists of a line of insurance policies that will be offered as consumer goods. In packages (similar to those of a DVD), insurance coverage will be offered at the country's primary commercial establishments, such as supermarkets, retail stores, gas stations, newsstands, etc.
The principle is one of self-service, as with gift cards.
It is a new model that is much closer to the consumer, with an approach that's different from any other currently existing sales channel.
To acquire insurance, all a client has to do is choose the box of insurance in the display cases of the country's leading retailers, or else in vending machines, and pay for it at the store's cash register, or directly into the machine.
After purchase, the client must activate the insurance at the site www.familiasempreprotegida.com.br. The activation number will be on the package of the product bought from the shelves of the country's leading retailers, or on the receipt issued by the vending machine. The property in question will be covered as of 24 hours after the activation of the insurance in the system.
The first product in the line is residential insurance, which offers coverage for fire, lightning, plane crashes and explosions, for prices that the consumer can choose: R$ 60, R$ 75 and R$ 85 (about US$26, US$30 and US$34, respectively).
"Bringing the consumer closer to the insurance market, making insurance tangible, and developing products with an excellent cost-benefit ratio, were some of the project's achievements, which is also helping to develop the insurance market and attract millions of people who do not have insurance, regardless of their class," says Marcos Ferreira, president of BB E MAPFRE in the areas of Automotive, General and Affinity Insurance coverage.
"More and more companies are including coverage in their products in order to make themselves more competitive, but no one has innovated in their way of delivering insurance to the consumer. Someone needed to take this step, to 'shake up' the conventional sales structure, and it's entirely natural that it should be the leading insurer in the areas where it operates," emphasizes Gilberto Lourenco, general manager for Marketing at Grupo BB E MAPFRE.
Partnership with the broker
In order for the new development to get to these points, we introduce the figure of the insurance broker who participates directly in the commercialization of products at points of sale. Furthermore, after the consumer activates the insurance purchase, the broker is automatically informed about the sale.
Outlook: an untouched market
The insurance sector has been enjoying double-digit annual growth since at least 2004, chiefly as the result of the so-called rise of Class C, of its consequent access to insurance and a new awareness among this population, that "there are things that need protecting." Even so, the levels of market penetration are slight.
The mission of this new channel is to get insurance to "touch" this uncovered population, fostering a "culture of insurance." A universe of one million potential clients from all income brackets, who are simply unaware today of the importance of insurance to protect their property.
In the United States, for example, homeowner's insurance is mandatory for any homeowner. In Brazil, it is estimated that about 5% of the population have this kind of insurance.
About GRUPO SEGURADOR BANCO DO BRASIL E MAPFRE
The result of a strategic union of the Banco do Brasil and MAPFRE Seguros, the GRUPO SEGURADOR BANCO DO BRASIL E MAPFRE is the largest insurer in the areas where it operates, with more than 6,000 employees, more than 160,000 points of sale, including brokers and bank branches, and 36 million clients. It has one of the most extensive product portfolios on the market, as well as specialized business units, an extensive presence on the ground, and multi-channel distribution.
Contact:
Eric Paraense, CDN Comunicacao Corporativa
Tel.: +55-11-3643-2811
Natalia Dias, CDN Comunicacao Corporativa
Tel.: +55-11-3643-2820
Patricia Polo, CDN Comunicacao Corporativa
Tel.: +55-11-5112-7485
t_ppolo@bbmapfre.com.br, patricia.polo@cdn.com.br
Harley Moreira, CDN Comunicacao Corporativa
Tel.: +55-11-3643-2767