Survey: Banks must meet high expectations for terms, convenience, advice / Only a minority are satisfied with own financial situation / Worries about effects of crisis in financial markets / Clients expect consolidation of banking market to yield stronger banks and better products

Dealing with criticism is difficult for everyone, even for companies. It becomes easier once employees and companies view criticism as a means of winning rather than losing a customer. Allianz Austria is among the leading companies with Allianz's international Customer Focus Initiative.

Allianz companies met in Frankfurt last week to exchange latest developments, experiences and insights underpinning Allianz’s group-wide Customer Focus Initiative. At the conference, top management and local company representatives reviewed global progress, while also addressing challenges that lay ahead.

Supporting customers in extraordinary situations is an important aim of California-based Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, and a key component of creating exceptional customer loyalty.

Listening to clients, understanding their needs, and offering the right solutions – for Allianz, all this means doing more than just providing financial coverage for losses sustained.

With the launch of AGF Capital Mémoire, AGF is the first French insurer to offer an innovative program designed to reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's. AGF belongs to the Allianz Group.

The Allianz Australia Group was one of the first companies to pilot Allianz's Customer Focus Initiative and introduce the Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures customers' willingness to recommend Allianz. An interview with Managing Director Terry Towell.

Allianz Private Krankenversicherung offers a special patient support service to customers who are seriously ill. Demand is high, which is why the service staff has been nearly doubled.

Allianz Australia's customer focus has contributed to it winning the award for the Best General Insurer 2006 at the renowned Australian Banking & Finance Magazine Insurance Awards.

Since it commenced trading in May 2000, Allianz Worldwide Care has quickly become a premier provider of health insurance cover for expatriates and their families worldwide. The key to its success: client retention.

Allianz sees customer loyalty as one of the keys to sustainable profitability and is introducing a range of initiatives to address this. Jan Carendi, Allianz board member and Chuck Kavitsky, CEO of Fireman’s Fund in the US, discuss the importance of customer focus to the group.

Customer loyalty can be boiled down to this single question, resulting in the Net Promoter Score. This indicator can help predict company growth, but Allianz's bottom-up approach does more than that: Direct feedback encourages its staff to improve the service.

Customers are often skeptical when greeted with the familiar call center hold message "Your call is important to us". Customers and agents of Allianz Life’s call center in Minneapolis know however, that when they hear this message, the company fully stands behind it. Its certification also proves they mean it.

Allianz Portugal is big on customer focus. Recently, they won the country's "best call center award" for 2005 across all industries.

Trade credit insurance requires a very dynamic relationship with the customer. Euler Hermes ACI has successfully improved its service and customer retention rate. An Allianz.com News interview with CEO Paul Overeem.

Allianz has a goldmine in its midst and doesn’t need a prospector’s map to find it. According to Holding board member Jan R. Carendi, every customer complaint is an opportunity to build customer loyalty and to help create lasting competitive advantage for Allianz.

Fireman's Fund Insurance Company has joined forces with Vinfolio, a San Francisco-based company focused on meeting the needs of wine collectors and enthusiasts. Through this relationship, Fireman’s Fund Prestige Collections policyholders can access a one-year free membership to Vinfolio.

Databank, a leading market research institute in Italy, has recognized Genialloyd and Ras for high marks in customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the auto insurance business.

Allianz board member Jan R. Carendi talked to Allianz.com News about delivering a truly superior customer experience and his aim to make this a reality throughout the company's global operations.

In recognition of the growing demand for Sharia products in Indonesia, Allianz's customers can now buy life and non-life Sharia insurance in a one-stop shopping experience. In the initial launch period, PT Asuransi Allianz Life is offering Unit Link Life Insurance while PT Asuransi Allianz Utama offers fire and motor vehicle insurance.