Helvetia welcomes customers to the metaverse

Media release
Basel, 23 February 2023

Helvetia Insurance is going one step further in terms of convenience and digitalization: Questions regarding insurance topics can now be answered by trained specialists in the metaverse. The all-lines insurer intends to gain experience in the virtual world, while simultaneously evaluating customer needs and potential new products and business models. 

Whether going to a concert, competing in computer games, meeting up with a colleague from America – the metaverse already offers many possibilities. From now on, you can also receive advice from an insurance expert from Helvetia. Anyone with a VR headset can attend a consultation in a virtual meeting room through their avatar. In addition to Helvetia Switzerland, the Group's online insurer Smile also has a presence in the metaverse.  

Exploring a new world together 
In the initial phase, Helvetia's main aim is to gain experience in the metaverse with regard to new customer requirements and technological developments as well as opportunities for new products and business models. Information events and consultations in the metaverse are the first pilot applications for the company. According to Jan Kundert, Head Customer and Market Management and Member of the Executive Board of Helvetia Switzerland: "We are there at the start of a technological development that is opening up a whole new world for us. We are stepping into this environment together with our customers. This will enable us to find out about their needs in a virtual space." New products are also envisaged at a later stage, he continues, for example in the event of increased demand for new insurance solutions in the virtual world.  

Investing in the customer experience 
Immersion and interaction are intended to create added value in the new advisory offering. Helvetia is confident that its move into the metaverse will result in new and exciting interactions with customers. These in turn should produce findings that help to further optimize the customer experience in the virtual space. "Making our services easy to access and progressive is one of our top priorities", explains Ralph Jeitziner, Head Distribution and Member of the Executive Board of Helvetia Switzerland: "With our helvetia 20.25 strategy, we pursue the ambition of setting standards in customer convenience and customer access. The metaverse allows our customers to interact with a specialist and have them explain things to them. This is completely different to reading texts on a website. We are excited to see how this new experience is received."

Booking an appointment online 
Anyone requiring a consultation in the metaverse can book an appointment online – the same as for a telephone consultation or a meeting at the agency. Helvetia will then send the access data by e-mail. The interested customers then meet as avatars with Helvetia's specialist in a virtual meeting room. After the consultation, they will receive a text message or e-mail with a link to their personal offer or to conclude a digital contract. At first, just a small number of Helvetia employees will have virtual reality headsets and be trained in their use. The virtual room has therefore been set up to allow more people to join in as a conventional video conference. You will find more details on Helvetia's presence in the metaverse at www.helvetia.ch/en/metaverse. 

About the Helvetia Group
Helvetia Group, with its headquarters in St. Gallen, has grown since 1858 to become a successful insurance group with over 12,000 employees and more than 7 million customers. It has been enabling its customers to seize opportunities and minimise risks for all that time – Helvetia is there for them when it matters. Helvetia is the best partner and is present everywhere that protection needs arise, with insurance, pension and investment solutions from a single source as well as simple products and processes. The insurance group knows the business, from mobile phone insurance and insurance cover for the Gotthard Base Tunnel to the long-term investment of customer assets. Helvetia develops and opens up new business models with enthusiasm and drives forward its own business in a powerful and future-oriented manner. It acts with foresight and responsibility in everything it does: for the benefit of its shareholders, customers and employees as well as its partners, society and the environment. Helvetia is the leading all-lines insurer in Switzerland. In the Europe segment comprising Germany, Italy, Austria and Spain, the company has firmly rooted market positions for generating above-average growth. In the Specialty Markets segment, Helvetia offers tailored special insurance and reinsurance cover worldwide. With a business volume of CHF 11.22 billion, Helvetia generated IFRS net income after tax of CHF 519.8 million in the 2021 financial year. The shares of Helvetia Holding AG are traded on SIX Swiss Exchange.

Cautionary note
This document was prepared by Helvetia Group and may not be copied, altered, offered, sold or otherwise distributed to any other person by any recipient without the consent of Helvetia Group. The German version of this document is decisive and binding. Versions of the document in other languages are made available purely for information purposes. Although all reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the facts stated herein are correct and the opinions contained herein are fair and reasonable, where any information and statistics are quoted from any external source such information or statistics should not be interpreted as having been adopted or endorsed as accurate by Helvetia Group. Neither Helvetia Group nor any of its directors, officers, employees and advisors nor any other person shall have any liability whatsoever for loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of this information. The facts and information contained in this document are as up to date as is reasonably possible but may be subject to revision in the future. Neither Helvetia Group nor any of its directors, officers, employees or advisors nor any other person makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this document. This document may contain projections or other forward-looking statements related to Helvetia Group which by their very nature involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and there is a risk that predictions, forecasts, projections and other outcomes described or implied in forward-looking statements will not be achieved. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause results to differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include: (1) changes in general economic conditions, in particular in the markets in which we operate; (2) the performance of financial markets; (3) changes in interest rates; (4) changes in currency exchange rates; (5) changes in laws and regulations, including accounting policies or practices; (6) risks associated with implementing our business strategies; (7) the frequency, magnitude and general development of insured events; (8) mortality and morbidity rates; (9) policy renewal and lapse rates as well as (10), the realisation of economies of scale as well as synergies. We caution you that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive; when evaluating forward-looking statements, you should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to Helvetia Group on the date of its publication and Helvetia Group assumes no obligation to update such statements unless otherwise required by applicable law.