Generali Reorganizes German Business to Enhance Competitive Position

May 26, 2015

Generali is reorganizing its German market business with an aim to enhance the competitive position of the group by the end of 2018. The company is instituting simpler and business-focused governance, a stronger focus on distribution strengths, a modern and leaner operating platform and a new business model in life insurance to ensure long-term profitability.

“Over the last two years, we have undertaken a reorganization of the operations in core European markets, such as Italy and France, to simplify our businesses and instill more efficient processes and technical excellence,” said Generali Group CEO, Mario Greco.

“Now, after the minority buy-out of Generali Deutschland completed in 2014, we are ready to launch a strategic repositioning to step up our ambitions and equip ourselves for the challenges ahead in Germany, our second largest market,” he added.

“Germany will play a key role in the years ahead in delivering best-in-class insurance services and further improving the attractiveness to our shareholders. I am very confident that the new management team together with the commitment of all our colleagues will successfully reshape and enhance our operations in the country,” he said.

The CEO of Generali Deutschland, Giovanni Liverani, said: “We are taking the right decisions today to win the race [to overcome] the market challenges of low interest rates, strict regulation and fierce competition which are putting the future of life insurers in Germany under strong pressure.”

He said the company’s strategy has been developed by listening to all stakeholders and will follow three basic principles: to better serve clients by leveraging the company’s distribution strength, to offer smarter products using new technologies and digitalization, and to streamline governance enabling faster decision making, higher efficiency and more in-depth market insight.

Generali Deutschland Holding will be organizationally integrated with Generali Versicherung and Generali Leben into the new Generali Deutschland AG, headquartered in Munich. Generali Deutschland AG will run the operations in all German business operating units through a functional matrix organizational model, thereby reducing duplication of costs, exploiting country synergies and international best practices, the company said in a statement.

This structure will allow a reduction of overhead functions and executive board members’ layers and a stronger proximity of country management to customers, distribution and mainstream business processes, Generali said.

Generali Deutschland said it aims to achieve more effective customer services and reduce unnecessary costs, closing the gap to best in class peers of the market. Costs will be reduced with a proportionally higher focus on non-personnel-related expenses. The company said it will now enter talks with the employee representatives about the best way to achieve this goal.

Country Management Team

In the future, according to general international best practices, Generali Deutschland AG will be managed by a board of management composed of six members. Three new members have been appointed by the supervisory board of Generali Deutschland Holding (GDH) with effect from June 1, 2015. Claudia Andersch, currently executive board member of CosmosDirekt will become country chief life and health officer. Monika Sebold-Bender, currently executive board member in Generali Versicherungen, will be the new country chief P&C officer. Ulrich Caspar Nießen, who has had lengthy experience in the German insurance market with large international entities, will join the Generali Group as country head of human resources.

Together with the country CFO Torsten Utecht and the country COO Rainer Sommer as well as CEO Giovanni Liverani, the board of management of GDH is now completed, the company said.

Source: Generali

Topics Germany

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