One of the reasons we’re taking steps to ensure the sustainability of our business is to meet the needs of our stakeholders, now and in the future.
There are a number of groups who influence much of what we do, and who in turn are affected by our operations. These include customers, employees, government bodies and regulators, suppliers, unions, community partners, business organisations and industry associations.
We listen to these groups by talking to them via surveys, focus groups and hosting functions, and by having our people represent us on industry bodies.
Stakeholder group
How we engage
Our customers include individuals, businesses, government and non-government organisations. We have direct relationships with individual customers who are home, car, small-business and farm owners. These direct customer relationships are mainly through State, NAC, Lantern and Swann. Through the NZI brand, brokers are our customers, to whom we provide a comprehensive range of business and personal insurance products. Our third line of business, personal and simple commercial insurance, is distributed through third-party brands such as banks, travel
We assess how well we’re meeting our customers’ needs through regular satisfaction surveys across our businesses. We have a customer feedback system which tells us what aspects of our service our customers are satisfied with and what areas we need to improve. Our frontline people ensure customers’ needs are met and that they have appropriate levels of cover so there are no surprises at claim time. Our websites and newsletters offer information for customers on making homes safer and explain insurance in simple terms. We have dedicated account managers who look after our brokers, agents and banking and finance partners. They provide feedback to help us continually improve our products and services. At our annual NZI Top Broker conference our executive team and NZI’s top managers talk with our brokers over the issues that are affecting our industry.
We have more than 2,000 employees who are as diverse as our customer base.
Our people are critical to the success of our business. We have a number of ways for employees to have their say on how they feel about working here. These include a regular direct ‘hot line’ into our CEO, focus groups, email inboxes and annual employee engagement surveys. The CEO and executive team also get out to meet and talk with our people. At our annual roadshow they talk about our strategy, goals and performance. Our people also have the opportunity to talk about and celebrate the work they do through internal publications and a staff video. When workplace changes are proposed we consult with our employees by talking through changes and seeking their feedback and suggestions. We hold regular performance and career discussions with all our people.
Government bodies and regulators
Government can play a big part in the way we do business. So we work collaboratively with government to ensure that they can achieve their policy objectives in an effective manner that also works for our customers and the business.
We brief politicians and officials on how insurance can work to alleviate the impacts of natural events by providing the financial assistance for communities to recover. Issues about which we’ve provided detailed submissions to government include proposed public policy changes to regulation of insurance and financial advice, the Fire Service Levy and human rights. We’ll continue to work with government to ensure better protection for New Zealanders.
We need a large network of suppliers across many industries to supply both the goods and services that we need to run our business and to put our customers’ claims right. These include: motor repairers, builders, glass repairers, appliance retailers, building supply merchants, jewellers and lawyers.
Because our customers often see our suppliers as representatives of us, we look for partners who share our values and commitment to sustainability. Our supplier selection guidelines help in this regard. The guidelines review potential suppliers’ performance across the broad criteria of customer service quality, commitment, pricing, implementation, sustainability and technology. Our dedicated account managers who look after these relationships regularly meet with our suppliers to review their performance and talk over any issues. IAG’s preferred supplier contracts also outline our responsibility to them, including their rights to dispute resolution and our responsibility to interact with them fairly.
Nearly half of our workforce is registered with one of three recognised unions – the Public Service Association (PSA), IAG NZ Staff Association and Finsec.
We enjoy constructive relationships with our union partners, and we’re committed to meeting and engaging with them on a regular basis. We support the important role that unions play in representing our employees. Union representatives can meet new employees as part of company induction programmes or in the workplace at any time.
We focus on reducing risk in the community and the environment. Our partnerships with community organisations include: the Sustainable Business Network, First Foundation and ACC.
We focus on reducing risk by supporting and working with community partners who are involved in accident prevention and environmental protection. We regularly meet with our partners to ensure that we’re achieving our goals of supporting communities and promoting awareness.
Business organisations and industry groups
A number of our employees are representatives in business organisations and industry groups. IAG NZ is a member of the Insurance Council of New Zealand, and participate in many of its committees. We’re also members of many business organisations including: Sustainable Business Network, New Zealand Green Building Council and the Equal Employment Opportunity Trust.
We take our role as New Zealand’s largest general insurer very seriously. We demonstrate this by taking an active position and engaging in issues that are relevant to our business. This includes our employees taking part in working parties, sharing their expertise at seminars and conferences and engaging in discussions and debates.