ALLIANZ COMMERCIAL SME OPERATIONS

As part of the development of its profitable growth strategy, Allianz Commercial has undertaken an extensive review of how it handles SME business, following the successful implementation of its QuoteSME eTrade platform.  The result of this review is the decision for Allianz to develop and expand its SME Operations at two sites: Maidstone for Broker-facing business and Lancaster for Direct and Affinity business.

Developing these two centres will enable Allianz Commercial to drive growth and deliver operational efficiencies through simplification, scale and the optimisation of processes in a new digital environment. 

This will result in two changes to the business:

1)  Allianz’s SME operational handling will move from Milton Keynes to Maidstone.  Regrettably, this means the company can no longer maintain the viability of Commercial Operations at Milton Keynes and the decision has been taken to close these Operations by the end of October 2014, with the handling of business for a small number of brokers moving to the nearby Luton Branch.

2)  As previously reported in the media, there have been changes to some of Allianz’s Bancassurance arrangements.  This means that the model used to service these relationships requires some change and so the handling of this business will be transferred from Allianz’s Business Insurance Centre (BIC) based in Bristol to the Allianz office in Lancaster.  The BIC will close on 31 August 2014.

These decisions affect 57 people based in Milton Keynes and 41 at the BIC but the hope is that a good proportion will be found alternative roles across the Allianz business, as has been successfully achieved on previous occasions.  Allianz currently employs over 750 people in Bristol and around 400 in Milton Keynes.

These changes do not affect Allianz's Commercial branch based in Bristol. 

Simon McGinn said:

“This set of changes has resulted from a specific review of our SME operations in the context of a rapidly-changing and increasingly digital environment. We are a Business that is gearing for growth and there are no other structural changes in view.  Decisions of this nature are never easy, but to ensure we are structured to achieve our ambitions we need to position our operations to deliver a growing and profitable set of business results over the medium and long term. 

He added:

“Allianz remains committed to further building our branch network as we believe that proximity to brokers and customers is the key to our success.” 

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Allianz Insurance is one of the largest general insurers in the UK and part of the Allianz SE Group, the largest property and casualty insurer worldwide. Around 83 million private and corporate customers rely on Allianz's knowledge, global reach, capital strength and solidity to help them make the most of financial opportunities and to avoid and safeguard themselves against risks. In 2013, around 148,000 employees in over 70 countries achieved total revenue of 110.8 billion euros.

For further information contact:

David Keel, head of communications, Allianz Insurance

Mob: 07771 794978

Email: david.keel@allianz.co.uk