Conversation
Frédéric Lavenir
Chief Executive Officer
Jean-Paul Faugère
Chairman of the Board of Directors
The 2015 business report starts a dialogue with ten people who wanted to ask us about the challenges we face as an insurer. What do you remember about those conversations?
Frédéric Lavenir.
First of all, I would like to thank them very much for their questions, which certainly reflect the challenges that we face today.
Our sector, like all the others, is entering into an era of usages, this is a compelling movement.
All the staff at CNP Assurances know this. We are gaining ground, at risk, and undergoing change.
We are currently living in this state of alertness, creativity and mobility so that we can seize the new opportunities offered by the new economy.
It’s so exciting! We have the chance to be a major financial group and, at the same time, to be a business of human size, agile and responsive.
These are major advantages against a background of rapid changes that are difficult to predict.
Jean-Paul Faugère.
These discussions clearly illustrate the way in which CNP Assurances is determined to respond to the needs of its customers, in all their diversity. The rules of the game are changing, and fast! I would like to thank those participating in these conversations for having highlighted the great capacity for adaptation and innovation of the staff, in collaboration with all our partners so as to always be working for our insured.
For three years, you have been working on the transformation of CNP Assurances’ financial model, what’s the latest on that?
F.L.
The rebalancing of our model can be seen specifically in our results. It is perfectly visible in all geographical areas, but particularly rapid in Europe excluding France, where, in 2015, revenue, which two years ago was for the most part in savings in euros, is now made up as to 70% of unit-linked and personal risk and protection products. This change will be reinforced in France by our new partnership with BPCE, which puts the emphasis on the personal risk and protection businesses, and by our agreement with La Banque Postale, which extends our partnership to the wealth management segment.
The success of CNP Patrimoine, the opening of our Luxembourg subsidiary, the mobilisation of our employee network Amétis and the increasing impact of our remote platform Alptis, dedicated to health, will further reinforce our multi-partnership and multi-channel model. This model is perfectly suited to the configuration of the market, because it enables us to contact our customers using different channels and to monitor changes in behavior more responsively.
J.-P.F.
“Diversification” is the watchword for the evolution of our model: diversification of geographies, of products, of distribution channels, of partners and of risks… Our expertise, the reputation of our staff, a constantly renewed dynamic of increasing competitiveness, the strength of our brand and our agility, make CNP Assurances a responsive player on all markets.
New customs, new risks, new uncertainties: what role can an insurer play in today’s society?
J.-P.F.
The contemporary world poses risks to people. Our role is to prevent, to protect and also facilitate our customers’ lives. This is an exciting challenge from a technical standpoint and also from the point of view of general interest: what an attractive mission, to contribute to warding off the elements of insecurity that weigh on people’s lives, and on their creative dynamism! The services offered by CNP Assurances contribute to a form of collective utility. Our staff can be proud of carrying this attractive responsibility together.
F.L.
Whether one is talking about the young people of Generation Y, about entrepreneurs and independent workers, or about multi-business employees, the new situations give rise to new needs: we have to come out of our technical bunkers and ensure that the customer directs the construction of our products and services.
The digital era provides us with an unprecedented opportunity. It makes the roles of producer and distributor more permeable and allows the development of direct relationships with customers, while providing more value to our partners.
In fact, the digital transformation is speeding up. Tell us about the digital dynamic of CNP Assurances.
J.-P.F.
The digitisation of the economy must be seen as an opportunity for the development of our business model. Like all companies, we are computerizing our management to the maximum extent, and taking advantage of the innovations of digital companies to improve our online services. But CNP Assurances also has digital ambitions that break from traditional practices: the example of our entirely digital subsidiary in Brazil illustrates our potential for innovation.
F.L.
Our digital strategy is ambitious. Our investments are growing rapidly, from €25_million in 2015 to nearly €60 million in 2016. The first results are promising.
Some improve the efficiency of our partners, such as the total computerisation of the credit insurance customer experience, or the extranet at the point of sale of consumer credit with Santander. Others open up the prospect of entering the BtoC world.
Our digital company in Brazil, which will be launched next summer, is born digital and extremely innovative in its customer approach, its products and services and its processes. We will not stop there. We have created the Open CNP programme to identify, among the start-ups in which we invest, those with which apart from financing, we would like to build a closer partnership to invent new customer experiences.
During COP21, CNP Assurances made strong commitments on the climate. Why are you speeding up the responsible approach?
F.L.
In fact, on the back of the momentum created around COP21, CNP Assurances published the carbon footprint of its directly-owned share portfolio for the first time, and committed to reduce it by 20% between now and 2020. Why? Being conscious of the length of our commitments to our insured,over fifteen or twenty years, we have for many years taken long-term risks and in particular climatic risks into account. The values we share within the Caisse des Dépôts Group obviously make us particularly aware of the challenges of the energy transition.
Jean-Paul Faugère
CNP Assurances also has digital ambitions that break from traditional practices: the example of our entirely digital subsidiary in Brazil illustrates our potential for innovation.
Frédéric Lavenir
We have the chance to be a major financial group and, at the same time, to be a business of human size, agile and responsive. These are major advantages against a background of rapid changes that are difficult to predict.
CNP Assurances’ coverage ratio for the purposes of Solvency II is high at the end of 2015, what does this mean?
J.-P.F.
The current economic context is characterized by historically low interest rates. In this environment, our solvency margin aims to give us considerable resilience, when faced with unfavourable scenarios. This is also the reason why, with complete transparency, we publish the sensitivity of our coverage ratio to a variety of standard scenarios. With the support of the Audit Committee, the Board of Directors pays particular attention to the analysis of risks, especially with regard to the requirements laid down in the Solvency II directive. The registration document reports extensively on this. We have a duty to be absolutely transparent in this respect to all our shareholders, to our customers and to the regulatory authority.
For the first time, the Group has committed to financial targets for the next three years. What is the basis for this confidence?
F.L.
The conclusion of renewed partnerships with BPCE and La Banque Postale, on excellent terms, the first visible results of our actions to transform the business model, and our conviction regarding our digital multi-channel and multi-product strategy, have allowed us to publish growth targets in spite of the difficult environment. It is this ambition which gives full meaning to the adaptation and creativity efforts made by the employees of CNP Assurances. It shows our confidence in the success of our business.
J.-P.F.
The Board of Directors thinks that following the renewal of our two major partnerships in France, we have a duty to be clear with our shareholders about our ambitions. Our message cannot be limited to highlighting the quality of our past results. We must also look to the future. Especially since the current dynamic gives us every reason to be optimistic.