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Germany’s largest insurance group Allianz wants to reorganize its agency network in the East. | Photo: Imago Images / Future Image
The Allianz Consulting and Sales Company (ABV) is restructuring its business in the eastern German states and Berlin. 430 agencies and three offices in the Northeast sales region are to be closed next year, as Allianz Germany announced yesterday.
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Agency supply in the eastern German states will be reduced by 15 percent
The affected employees, around 15 percent of the independent representatives in the sales area, will continue to be employed in other functions – for example as agency partners or customer advisors in sales. There will be no redundancies for operational reasons. The changes are part of the “ABV Future Program”, which has been running since the beginning of 2023.
ABV is responsible for the exclusive organization, the digital consulting and sales unit, and sales through Allianz’s banking partners in Germany. According to the company, this includes around 8,000 independent representatives nationwide. The Northeast sales region includes the federal states of Saxony, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, and Berlin. There are currently around 2,500 Allianz agencies there, organized in 18 offices.
Demographic change: Sales structures no longer up to date
Due to its history, Allianz has a particularly strong presence in the east of the country. In 1990, it took over the GDR’s state insurance company. But 35 years after reunification, the group points to significantly changed conditions in the new federal states. A declining and rapidly aging population, a gradual depopulation of rural regions and increasing urbanization are external drivers of profound change in the eastern German states.
No word on the consequences for customers
For Allianz, demographic change means a necessary downsizing. Many offices in the area are unlikely to be economically viable any more. According to a report in the trade magazine “Procontra”, a spokeswoman for the company said when asked: “We have places here where there are no longer any bakeries or grocery stores, but there are two Allianz agencies. We simply have to react to that.” For many customers, the restructuring will probably mean longer distances and new contacts in the future. But Allianz does not mention this in its statement. Nor does the group provide any details about the locations of the agencies affected.
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Criticism from consumer advice center
It is therefore not surprising that there were immediate critical reactions after the announcement. The Saxony Consumer Advice Center criticizes the planned closures. A spokesperson told “MDR Aktuell” that the representatives are needed especially in rural areas. Older people in particular value personal advice. Telephone calls cannot replace that. “We have had quite a few complaints about long times on hold. It is simply different whether you can drive by during opening hours or whether you have to rely on someone on the other side to answer.”
Agency network remains above the national average
Andreas Schmidt, @Allianz
Rather, the Munich-based company is trying to sell the changes as a homeopathic intervention that is essential for further growth. Andreas Schmid, member of the ABV board and responsible for sales in the north, says: “We have decided to make the appropriate changes from a position of strength – with the aim of further expanding Allianz’s undisputedly strong market position in the north-east. With the measures we have decided on, we are creating an improved working basis for more than 2,000 agencies in the new federal states. We are on site: the density of our agency network remains above the national average for our customers even after the adjustments.”
Goal: become more urban, entrepreneurial, digital and younger
According to the alliance, the continuation of the future program will make agency sales more urban, entrepreneurial, digital and younger. Among other things, investments will be made in the establishment of new, larger agencies in urban centers and the digital skills of their representatives. According to the company, the remaining 15 offices will take over the affected employees and tasks.
For product generations that still come from the state insurance, the service for customers is to be standardized by a new, central support unit that specializes in the special features of regional products, such as “extended household insurance.” In addition, an increase in the number of trainees hired each year as finance and insurance clerks and office clerks to 100 was announced. All measures have already been finally negotiated with the relevant employee bodies.
