Success through intrinsic motivation.
Helvetia wants to become more international with its new strategy. As a result, the Specialty Markets segment is becoming even more important. CEO David Ribeaud is aware that in addition to this meaning more responsibility, it will also open up many opportunities.
Text Sarah Büchel Photos Anna-Tina Eberhard, St. Gallen
David, with the new strategy, your segment is moving further into the limelight. What changes does this entail?
We have registered strong growth in recent years, increasing our business volume from CHF 750 million in 2015 to around CHF 2 billion today. We have always been driven by intrinsic motivation. It goes without saying that greater visibility comes with more responsibility and we are now even more aware that the segment has to succeed as a strategically important pillar within the Group. As part of the Global Specialty strategy, we will also contribute to the development of specialty lines in all country markets.
What does this mean in concrete terms?
We want to achieve a leading position in the specialty lines in all country markets. We are already very well positioned in France and Switzerland, and we will continue to leverage this expertise in a profitable manner in the future by working together more closely with the relevant market units. We intend to actively support the latter and put important prerequisites in place such as reinsurance capacity, training and access to the international network so that they can grow profitably in the years ahead.
And what does the strategy mean for the Specialty Markets segment?
The most important change is that the Group is now explicitly committed to this business. We are aware that it is subject to so-called underwriting cycles and can prove volatile due to the risks involved. We may therefore experience a bad year from time to time and it is possible that there will be phases when we have to shrink in light of market conditions. Communicating this in an open and transparent fashion helps us not only to write business in a disciplined manner, but also to systematically exploit opportunities even if they are associated with greater volatility. This means that risks can be better diversified at a Group level, leading to a higher expected return on capital.
Where would you like to be in 2035?
Our vision is twofold. Firstly, we want to be among the best smart followers in the areas of international specialty lines and reinsurance worldwide. Being a follower means that we participate in risks with a lean infrastructure but without taking over the management of the contract. And being smart means that we do not participate in the market blindly, but rather selectively with a sound technical basis. This lean infrastructure also allows us to grow and shrink with the cycles. Secondly, we want to be one of the leading primary insurers in the specialty lines in every country in which we are present and to be an important partner for SMEs.
What does it mean for you to be a Global Specialist?
Being a specialist means that our experts have an in-depth understanding of the insured risks.
We employ engineers, chemists, former carriers, ship captains and the like from more than 15 nationalities to ensure this. This isn’t something that can simply be copied, and it helps us to stand out from the crowd. Global means successfully utilising this knowledge in all relevant areas within the Group.
“We need to consistently empower and support those working on the front line, as it is here that you can impress with your quality and win customers.”
Can we keep pace with the major global players?
That isn’t our objective at all. Customers never want to place 100 % of their cover with the global players. Instead, they also always want to involve smaller and medium-sized companies. It is here that we want to be among the best, meaning that our competitors are other small and medium-sized firms.
What makes us attractive in this respect?
The bigger a company, the longer the decision-making pathways and the less empowered the organisation is. We are attractive precisely because we aren’t a big company – not only for employees, but also for brokers and our customers. We need to consistently empower and support those working on the front line, as it is here that you can impress with your quality and win customers.
What significance do you attach to culture with respect to the successful implementation of the strategy?
Very great significance. We need to be focused, solution-oriented and pragmatic and trust one another. This requires courage and we have to accept that we cannot achieve perfection. Instead, we need to make compromises if we want to be competitive. This means going without external support, for example, even if we may not exactly know everything internally. Or the most effective implementation of regulatory requirements. Here, I still believe that potential exists to ensure that we don’t allow ourselves to be driven too far by the general increase in complexity.
How will you contribute personally to achieving the strategy?
By empowering employees, placing my trust in them, being pragmatic, making quick decisions and ensuring that we follow the same objectives as a team.
In the slipstream
Cycling is physics that you can experience first-hand. This also includes the beautiful phenomenon of slipstreaming, perfected in the “Belgian tourniquet”, a technique that sees riders in a group constantly taking turns at the front. The energy saved in the slipstream is considerable and can amount to up to 30 %. That is why those who don’t want to take their turn on the front are referred to as “wheel suckers”.
Photo Sam Buchli, Bern
In the slipstream
Cycling is physics that you can experience first-hand. This also includes the beautiful phenomenon of slipstreaming, perfected in the “Belgian tourniquet”, a technique that sees riders in a group constantly taking turns at the front. The energy saved in the slipstream is considerable and can amount to up to 30 %. That is why those who don’t want to take their turn on the front are referred to as “wheel suckers”.
Photo Sam Buchli, Bern