Founded in 1994 in Torun, EIB has expanded its business over the last decades and is nowadays recognised as a multi‑specialist insurance broker adviser to some of Poland's largest companies and financial services groups.
For over 22 years EIB hasbeen insurance adviser to Poland’s largest companies and financial servicesgroups. Founded in 1994 in Torun, EIB initially focused on the energy sector,providing an in‑house broking service to a Polish public energy company.Building upon its success, EIB started to expand its activity, working withother sectors of the Polish economy.
Over two decades later,EIB is recognized as a multi‑specialist, comprehensive insurance broker and adviserwith a wide‑ranging client portfolio. The company has developed mainly throughorganic growth; EIB is one of
Poland’s biggest insurancebrokers with expertise in building and developing specialised programmes toprotect the financial interests of clients. Over the last three years, EIB hascontinually been ranked among the top five Polish insurance brokers for incomerevenue. The firm specializes in providing business insurance and employee benefitsservices to upper middle market companies and calls itself a ‘one stop shop’,meeting the needs of clients requiring a range of cover including property& casualty and credit & surety insurance, plus employee benefits etc. EIBworks in partnership with clients from numerous sectors, operating in Polandand abroad, and gives insurance
advice and support toaround 750 firms and financial services groups. Client sectors include; energy,heavy industry, construction, manufacturing, food, plastics, wood, furniture,shoe and textile production, agriculture, leisure and servicing,transportation, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, utilities, local government andfinancial services.
Within the Polishinsurance sector, EIB has a reputation for service excellence and unrivalledknowledge and its brand is synonymous with the provision of a superior qualityservice. EIB currently protects assets of more than EUR 150 billion and thehealth and lives of over 100,000 people, making it one of Poland’s largest insurancebrokers working closely with the Polish insurers.
The company employs over150 professionals including 100 licensed brokers and 10 legal counsels – all providingthe highest level of service. EIBannually places some EUR 80 million ofclients’ premiums into the insurance market,making it an important partner forstakeholders with leverage and buying powerto secure the best terms and conditionsfor customers.
Creative solutions
The diverse and growing needs of clients coupled with a rapidlydeveloping market, inspires EIB to create new solutions and continuously improveits service provision. In a tough market saturated by brokers, and in order toretain its leading clients and win others from rival firms, its focus is oncore competencies, specialist areas and the competitive advantages of itssuperior client service. EIB annually measures client retention rates and is proudto admit that in recent years, it equates to around 97%. EIB is renowned forits expertise within major construction projects, big industrial risks andpublic tender activities. It successfully designed and placed an insuranceprogramme for the biggest investment project in central‑eastern Europe valuedat nearly EUR 3 billion and adjusted the biggest claim in the history of Polishinsurance. While this evidences outstanding credentials and experience,
EIB knows it needs to be dynamic and client‑focused in order to grow. Itrecently moved into trade credit insurance – a fast growing market demandinghigh levels of expertise in order to secure robust coverage and to be able toadjust claims accordingly. A further portfolio addition is the Pension &Benefit programme protecting 100,000 client employees. To maintain growth, EIBis constantly developing its client services and IT innovation and has what itdescribes as ‘the most advanced in‑house insurance and claim management system’directly accessible by clients.
EIB appreciates that Poland’s highly competitive, complex and modern economymeans insurance brokers can no longer survive with personal customer contactand commissions generated by simple insurance placement. In order to grow andmeet customers’ complex risk management and transfer requirements, brokers needto possess higher levels of expertise. In response, EIB ensures employees notonly have the education, skills, knowledge and experience the market requires,but also an in‑depth understanding of; insurance products, the markets they’reworking within, the clients´ business model and risk exposure and theirprotection needs. In order to maintain that competitive edge, EIB continues toinvest in employees’ skills and IT solutions while enhancing their marketknowledge and legal and technical competences. The company’s strong internationalpresence is facilitated by Brokerslink membership, enabling it to provideunrivalled services wherever clients undertake their business.
EIB recognises clients today expect their brokers to provide the ITtools that allow them to monitor their insurance programmes, activity andprogress. In response, the firm employs five programmers, who working alongsidetheir broking colleagues, deliver new IT solutions to meet clients’expectations.
Brokerslink enables thebuilding of international connections
After many years of beinga major player within Poland’s domestic market, EIB took the strategic decisionto join Brokerslink. Membership of this global broking company enables EIB to continueto further develop, grow and build relationships with other specialists aroundthe world.
Being part of aninternational broking company means EIB can respond to the specific needs ofPolish companies requiring global support. Its relationship with internationalbrokers in foreign markets and ability to expand its service and solutionsportfolio enables EIB to create and successfully implement international programmesfor Poland’s leading companies operating in different sectors. The localhandling of multinational programmes by Brokerslink partners allows EIB toprovide tailor‑made services for even the most demanding clients. In addition,the support of Brokerslink ensures EIB‑brokered solutions meet local law andmarket requirements; giving the client’s business the cover it needs,reinforced with an effective risk management process. When managinginternational insurance programmes for multinational companies, EIB can extendits local broker service by liaising with Brokerslink partners to offer abroader range of global solutions that fill any cover gaps in their masterpolicies. International broker cooperation provides a platform to share knowledgeand gives EIB access to the world’s best solutions for non‑standard risks cover– something not available to local Polish brokers. Being a member ofBrokerslink gives EIB a competitive advantage; it enables the company to gainnew experiences and work with insurance brokers around the world, increases itspotential for client expansion and strengthens its position among its domesticcompetitors. EIB’s long association with Brokerslink and its shareholder statushas strengthened market awareness and international recognition of EIB as anexperienced and reliable partner.
An innovation pioneer
In order to provide customizedbrokerage services, EIB became an innovation pioneer in the field of computeradministration. In response to the growing needs of customers, EIB developed anInsurance Management System (IMS), enabling clients to manage andadminister their insurance contracts and claims handling.
The IT platform givesclients unlimited on‑line access to a comprehensive portfolio of insurance andclaims documents, enabling them to monitor all activities undertaken by EIBwithin a client‑broker‑insurer context. This innovative IT solution allows themto view; insurance documents, assigned tasks, training/courses andpresentations related to their insurance cover, instructions on what to do inthe event of a loss, loss adjusting documents/ correspondence and relevantstatistics. In addition, the EIB‑developed system provides full claimsmanagement support. The claim notification starts with a simple on‑line formand as the claim progresses, clients can access all claim documentation enablinga real‑time monitoring of EIB activity. The basic principle of the system is torecord every piece of claim activity from the of correspondence (in digitised form) to everytelephone conversation, etc. This
database access ensuresbroker and client can monitor the claim’s progress and be alerted to any lossoutcomes.
The System shows whatpremium is paid for each policy and automatically
summarises and notifiesclients when upcoming payouts or instalments are due. IMS is not only aneffective tool for overseeing and managing the work of EIB and its claimsadjusting services, but it also increases the quality of its service provisionand streamlines the risk management process for clients.
Meeting clientexpectations – intermediary or consultant?
In today’s developingeconomy, Polish companies perceive a brokerage service to be more than anintermediary negotiating the cost and scope of insurance cover. Expectationsover the years have changed significantly. A broker should treat every customeras an individual, meeting specific insurance and risk management needs. EIBrecognises this and designs and delivers tailor‑made
Programmes and insurancesolutions. Nowadays, companies expect their insurance broker to provide a morecomprehensive service and act as a consultant and specialist in many relatedfields.
One such area EIBspecialises in is insurance law. Thanks to investment in its advisory business,customers do not have to use additional consulting firms, giving themsignificant savings. EIB’s professional advisers are experts with many years’experience of working in insurance‑related sectors. They have unrivalledknowledge about market conditions, including complex cases, and so can help EIBsource the appropriate insurance cover and develop solutions suitable for eachparticular client.
EIB also provides legalcounsel support by professionals with detailed knowledge of today’s insurancemarket – and there’s an investment advisory service to help clients with theirasset management and protection in the construction sector. ForConstruction/Erection All‑Risk (CAR/ EAR) insurance clients, this involves helpingthem prepare tender documents (including insurance clauses), analyzing contractsto determine risk exposure and responsibilities and supporting financial stakeholdernegotiations. Guidance from an experienced specialist can ensure the correctrisk management policies and processes are in place. Included within itsadvisory service provision, EIB monitors Poland’s legislation, includinginsurance law and the broader civil, economic, tax and other areas. If there’sa change in the law that affects the responsibilities or rights of clients, EIBadvises them of their new legal situation, highlighting the associated benefitsand threats. With Polish legislation constantly changing, this type ofassistance is vital for businesses.
Insurance education
EIB equally recognizes theimportance of insurance education and how increasing insurance awarenessensures business continuity, and so offers clients seminars, courses andtraining sessions. In addition, clients have the support of a risk engineer whocan advise on the often complex technical aspects and safety requirements oftheir particular business activity.
These services areexamples of how Polish insurance brokers can enhance their everyday role of;risk analysis and identification, the sourcing and placement of insuranceprogrammes, mediating and managing the purchase of insurance contracts andother activities surrounding insurance provision, claims management andadjusting.
Keeping pace with change
EIB is one of Poland’sleading brokers and aims to strengthen its market position by attracting newcustomers from differing sectors. One way to secure this competitive advantageis to consistently develop additional services to support the standard brokermodel. In doing so, it will meet the needs of the most conscientious and demandingclient and meet EIB’s goal to provide comprehensive insurance solutions forevery client – from the smallest to the most complicated. In order to enhanceits global brand awareness, build upon its experience and extend its clientbase, EIB will continue to expand its international partnerships.
The aggressive competitionbetween brokers in Poland benefits strong firms such as EIB; it increasesmarket consolidation and small to medium broker acquisitions, expanding staff numbersand the customer portfolio. EIB realizes the most important business resourceis its people and so will continue to focus on organic growth and create a workenvironment for employees who want to learn and develop their skills. Thebroker is also aware that Poland’s economic situation and insurance market israpidly evolving and only someone who keeps pace with the surrounding changes willbe recognized as a trustworthy business partner.
