At what point did you take your first steps when you realized that everyday life as we knew it would imminently cease, and what they were?

Since March 13, when the red code due to the epidemiological situation was introduced at the national level, GRAWE Carat Asigurari complied with the provisions imposed by the authorities, urgently taking special unprecedented steps to keep both our employees and customers safe and unaffected by the situation in any way.

For this purpose, we founded a crisis team consisting of the management team and several expert doctors employed by our company within the Health Insurance Compensation Department; it was mainly aimed at continuing our business and maintaining all the operational services, and, of course, also protecting our staff and customers. Therefore, in addition to sanitary protection steps, which had already been taken on a regular basis, we minimized direct interaction with our customers, providing them with online tools, so that any insurance policy or damage operation could be performed remotely as fast as possible.

How has the pandemic affected the company’s inner processes?

Although some work processes were postponed, we relied on internal communication quite a lot. We adapted it for remote meetings and video calls, so we made sure that none of our employees suffered much from the pandemic and could do their job in a professional and safe manner.

Obviously, changing the way we worked overnight was not easy, because a large part of our employees still works from home, but we consider that we were quite prepared in terms of equipment and staff. Our consultants from all over the country are perfectly prepared to guide our customers and provide the best insurance offers by phone, video calls, email, or other types of communication, because we intend to remain a responsible and reliable partner.

How has this situation influenced the business, negatively and, from the point of view of eventual opportunities, positively (in the long term)?

In the context of the pandemic situation and the impossibility of traveling abroad, some business lines have been affected; in fact, Green Card Insurance and Insurance for Traveling Abroad have decreased by approximately 70%.

Instead, we have noticed an increasing interest in the products related to health risks also covering the pandemic risk, such as life insurance, and it is no surprise. GRAWE Carat is currently the only insurer offering Life Insurance, and we are glad that many customers have realized the need for such insurance.

We prefer staying optimistic in this situation and seeing good things first. Along with great challenges, this situation has given us an opportunity to develop and improve.

We are witnessing an increase in digitalization, which was hard to believe at first, as direct relationship between the customer and the consultant is essential in the sphere of insurance, and also because the legislation of the Republic of Moldova does not provide for any flexibility in terms of sales, compensation, issuance, and signing remote insurance agreements.

Yet now, as modern means of communication are used very often, we are sure that this unprecedented experience will serve as an impetus for updating the legal framework and allowing the development of digitalization in the sphere of insurance, though we have to admit that it involves a complex process and is related not only to the legal framework but also to a number of other different factors.

Have you been involved in any campaigns for supporting doctors or other categories of “front line’ staff?

The basic objective of GRAWE Carat Asigurari is providing safety, and we considered it was necessary to support efforts to counter the risk of COVID-19 by donating 1 000 tests to the National Public Health Agency. We are very glad that that what initially seemed to be an ambitious and even unachievable goal became true. We supplied 1000 tests that included reagents for all the stages of work necessary for qualitative testing and complied with the World Health Organization provisions.

Supporting the healthcare system of the Republic of Moldova is still one of our priorities, because at this stage, solidarity is required, and specific and correct actions are decisive for combating the pandemic.

We would like to take advantage of this opportunity and tell our doctors that we appreciate their dedication, work, and heroic actions.

What is your forecast regarding the changes this pandemic will impose on your sphere of activity?

We still consider it is too early for making any forecasts, as these are unprecedented times, and we are still in the midst of this pandemic, but we can say with certainty that the pandemic has confirmed once again that we have to reassess our lifestyle. It is important to make right choices and realize that we must comply with all the restrictions imposed by the authorities, such as hygiene, self-isolation, and wearing masks, especially during this period of time.

As to the company’s activity, we have noticed that the speed of reaction and decision-making is crucial in such moments to maintain continuity and protect customers’ and employees’ health. And certainly, as we have mentioned above, the biggest lesson is that we can offer many services remotely, hence, it is necessary to digitize them as quickly and efficiently as we can.

A brief history of the company’s appearance on the market in the Republic of Moldova and its evolution from launching until the beginning of this year in several sentences

GRAWE Carat Asigurari is part of a solid Austrian financial concern which includes a diversified composition (such as insurance, financial services, and real estate companies) – Grazer Wechselseitige Versicherung – GRAWE Group which has been creating its financial power for over 192 years of experience.
The company entered the insurance market of the Republic of Moldova in 2004, under the initial name of “GRAWE Life Insurance”.

During all these years of activity, the company has been continuously developing, improving its services, and professionally consulting its customers, and its financial results prove this fact.
Since 2017, GRAWE Carat ranks 1st in the Top List of Insurance Companies in the Republic of Moldova as the only company that offers its customers the full range of insurances, starting with life insurance with capitalization and general (vehicle, medical, and property) insurances according to the highest European standards.

This goal is achieved, but we will not rest on our laurels. We will keep investing in our Company and offer the best experiences to our customers.

The series of interviews "Foreign investors vs. COVID-19" are part of the gratitude campaign addressed to all foreign investors in the Republic of Moldova who during the pandemic demonstrated a high sense of social responsibility, an example model of employee care and proactivity in reconceptualizing the business . Campaign launched by The Moldovan Investment Agency with the support of the ‘Economic Policy Advice to the Moldovan Government’ project, implemented by GIZ Moldova with the financial support of the German and Swiss Governments.