Vörður

Vörður tryggingar hf. is a general insurance company offering convenient insurance solutions at competitive prices to individuals, families and corporate customers. At the end of 2019 Vörður had 100 employees in 92 full-time equivalent positions and more than 60,000 customers.

Vörður enjoyed a strong 2019. Since our customer base has grown so strongly in recent years, a conscious decision was made to scale back market penetration and to focus instead on enhancing services and solutions. Significant changes were made to the way in which the business is organized in order to simplify all dealings between our customers and employees. Our premises in Borgartún in Reykjavík were refurbished and now better reflect the focuses in our service.

Numerous improvements to the business were made during the year, with the launch of several new digital solutions but without sacrificing the level of personal service from our employees. Our guiding principle when it comes to service is “digital but personal”, meaning that the company is committed to being at the forefront of digital technology but also has a dedicated team of employees ready to assist customers when they need personal support and advice.

Over the year we continued to develop the business in line with the strategic planning carried out in the spring of 2018. Five key areas were defined as focuses for the next few years. These are digital solutions, data driven business, continual improvements in human resources and culture, and the full exploitation of the opportunities presented by being owned by Arion Bank. The fifth area of focus revolves around our customers, ensuring they are always in first place. We aim to constantly improve our services, seeking new ways to enhance the experience and situation of our customers. Success in the first four of these areas of focus will also be beneficial to our customers.

In 2019 we embarked on an extensive collaborative project on digital solutions with Arion Bank. Arion Bank has pioneered the development of these solutions on the banking market and it is only natural for Vörður, the Bank’s subsidiary, to follow in its footsteps and to create cutting edge fintech products. The goal of this project was to design add-on features to the Arion app and to enable users to buy all the main types of home insurance with the app. Customers can also get a complete overview of all their insurance policies from Vörður in the app. This solution is the first of its kind in Iceland and with the new improved “My Pages” feature has enabled our customers to do much of their business digitally. We will continue to further develop and improve these solutions in the future.

Sustainability

Vörður has published its third sustainability report, which was prepared in accordance with the ESG reporting guide for Nasdaq. The company has set ambitious targets in this respect and aims to do even better over the next few years. Involving our employees in a new sustainability strategy was one of the many positive things accomplished during the year. In the spring theme days were held on which various presentations on the theme of sustainability were given. In the autumn one of the themes of the company’s team-building day was sustainability. The employees came up with numerous resourceful ideas on how to reduce the company’s carbon footprint and have a greater influence on stakeholders to show socially responsible behaviour.

The company teamed up with advisors to perform a risk analysis of environmental, social and governance factors in order to identify which factors required more focus in the business. The intention is to then make a 5-year plan on progress made in key areas.

Equality has long been integral to the values of the company. The concept does not just apply to equal salaries but also to issues such as respect, communication, fairness, power of decision-making, opportunities and teamwork. There has been gender equality at Vörður for many years in both the board of directors and senior management. In 2019 the gender ratio at mid-level management was more equal than in the past. At the end of 2019 55% of employees were women and 45% were men.

In 2014 the company became the first financial institution to gain equal pay certification and this has been confirmed for the seventh year in a row, with the unexplained gender pay gap measuring 1.2% in favour of males. Vörður was awarded the top equality prize by FKA, the Association of Businesswomen in Iceland, and was also named company of the year by the labour union VR, where Vörður gained the highest score for equality of any large company.

A new HR policy was adopted during the year, and equality is one of the key performance indicators in the policy.

Vörður has always followed the guidelines on corporate governance issued by Icelandic Chamber of Commerce, the Confederation of Icelandic Employers and NASDAQ OMX Iceland hf. Last year the company was recognized as a company which has achieved excellence in corporate governance. The Center for Corporate Governance evaluated the company on the basis of the above guidelines.

Operations and financial performance

Vörður performed well in 2019, although there are always challenges to be dealt with. It is important that the three key business segments, non-life insurance, life insurance and financial activities, have generally yielded positive financial results. Results from non-life insurance remained in the balance but did improve from the previous year, while it was a strong year for life insurance. Achieving a satisfactory balance in the vehicle insurance business is a challenging and long-term project, as salaries and the cost of accident claim settlements have risen sharply in recent years. Since there is a direct link between increasing salaries and accident claim settlements, pay increases in recent years have resulted in a massive increase in expenses. Moreover, it is far more expensive to repair cars fitted with modern technology and computer systems.

The financial activities segment generated excellent results, considerably better than budgeted for. It is positive but also vital that our core business, i.e. insurance, generates a profit at all times.

Tasks ahead

Vörður has performed strongly over the last few years. It is pleasing to see the growth in our customer base and to sense the loyalty shown by our customers to the company. It provides great incentive to our employees to do even better in the future.

We are constantly developing service solutions to meet the diverse needs of our customers. Developing innovative digital solutions which enable customers to take care of their insurance business whenever they please will remain a key priority.

We have invested heavily in management training, bringing in experts to enhance the leadership skills of our management team. By doing this we are laying the foundations which will enable us to develop in challenging times of change and increasing competition.

Outlook

Vörður has gone from strength to strength over the last few years. The company is built on strong foundations and has a dedicated and ambitious team of employees. The mission of these employees and the owner is clear: to move forward, develop our services and insurance solutions so that they meet the needs of families and companies at all times