Vördur

Vördur tryggingar hf. is a general insurance company offering competitive insurance to individuals, families and corporate customers. At the end of 2018 Vördur had 94 employees in 87 full-time equivalent positions and more than 60,000 customers.

2018 was the first complete business year following the merger with Okkar líf. The merger was carried out successfully, excellent synergy has been achieved and it puts Vördur on a stronger footing than ever, with an enhanced service offering and a dedicated team of employees on board.

A number of projects were undertaken during the year, including the completion of the company’s new strategy, the restructuring of the company’s headquarters in Reykjavík, and the launching of a range of key projects designed to develop and improve the business.

Our strategy was developed by a team of employees, under the guidance of a team of consultants and the board members of Vördur tryggingar and Vördur líf. The new strategy reaffirms what has always been central to our business, putting the customer in first place by providing first-rate services and safeguarding their interests. By giving the customers more options and increasing the number of self-service channels we aim to make insurance more convenient for our customers. The long-term objective is to enable our customers to contact us whenever it is convenient for them, with channels open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Arion Bank, the owners of Vördur, has been a leading developer of digital solutions in Iceland. Developments on the insurance market have been slower than on the banking market but things are now picking up pace. We aim to bring out digital products which enable our customers to buy insurance, or report damage and make claims at any time, whenever convenient. Our partnership with Arion Bank will continue to evolve and bring benefits to customers of all companies in the group. Developing the skills of our employees will also remain key to our success.

The company’s headquarters were reorganized into a bright, modern facility designed to better meet the needs of our customers and employees.

One of the chief tasks during the year was to implement the new Data Protection Act, which came into force in mid-2018. The new legislation has a considerable impact on the day-to-day operations of Vördur and entailed a great deal of preparation. The implementation process was carried out by a team from Vördur and an outside specialist and the process was formally completed in December. A special data protection committee has been set up and it will meet regularly to address data protection issues at Vördur. The Data Protection Officer is shared with Arion Bank and her role is to supervise data protection.

Quality and security issues are a central component of our business, not least owing to the rapid changes occurring within our business environment. We have placed a strong emphasis on supervision, particularly reporting to ensure compliance with procedures and processes. The company is committed to improving data security and since 2016 has been in compliance with standard ISO 27001:2013.

Sustainability

The environment and sustainability have long been of great importance to the company. Last year Vördur published a sustainability report for the first time, prepared in accordance with Nasdaq’s ESG criteria, UN Sustainable Development Goals, Global Reporting Initiative and UN Global Compact. In November 2015 Vördur was one of 104 signatories to the City of Reykjavík and Festa’s Declaration on Climate Change. Signatories to the climate change declaration aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce waste, measure what they have achieved and regularly report on status of the above factors. A range of measures on climate change have been taken. An agreement was reached with Kolvidur on offsetting the company's greenhouse gas emissions, including emissions from the employees' journeys to and from work, which constituted 56% of the company's total emissions. During the year the company decided to replace its petrol and diesel-powered cars with electric vehicles and this will be completed in 2019. Waste has been sorted since 2011 and we are continually improving this process. In 2018 we introduced a new system for ordering lunchtime meals, the result of which has been a huge reduction in the amount of wasted food. On days where there is a lot of leftover food, we contact the charity Samhjálp which collects the food and redistributes it.

Vördur has a clear vision and policy on equal opportunities. The policy is designed to guarantee fairness, and equal opportunities and conditions for all employees, irrespective of their gender, age, race, or other factors. Any kind of discrimination is contrary to the company’s equal opportunities policy and equal opportunities legislation. In 2014 Vördur became the first financial institution in Iceland to gain equal salary certification from the labour union VR. Since then Vördur has been committed to maintaining and developing the system implemented to safeguard equal opportunities and each year we have renewed the equal salary certification, confirming our commitment to this cause.

Operations and financial performance

The company performed satisfactorily during the year. The company’s operations are based on three main areas of business: non-life insurance, life insurance and financial activities. Non-life insurance experienced a rather difficult year but did improve from the previous year. Mainly due to the fact that motor insurance operations have struggled in recent years, both mandatory and voluntary motor insurance. Salary increases in recent years have now been fully included in the settlement of claims for compensation for physical injury under the Icelandic tort damages act. Also, the number of new cars in Iceland has increased substantially in recent years and it costs far more to repair the technologically complex vehicles on the road today.

Life insurance at Vördur líf performed excellently for the second year in a row. The focus is on maintaining the strong position attained by Vördur and key priorities will include product development and introducing new digital products.

The results from financial activities were in line with the annual budget but were nevertheless considerably weaker than the previous year.

Tasks ahead

Vördur has grown strongly in recent years. The company now has well over 60,000 customers and the number of employees has grown accordingly. The main focus for 2019 is to devise products and services which meet the needs of our customers. While new digital products are important, the aim is not to completely digitalize the company. Instead we have to find the right mix of digital channels and personal services. Many of the tasks resulting from the company's strategic planning will be dealt with over the next few months. In terms of regular activities, the main task is to improve the performance of non-life insurance, particularly motor insurance and we will continue to seek ways to do this. 

Outlook

Vördur has performed excellently in recent years and we fully intend to build on this success in the future. The outlook is bright and exciting. Technology brings both threats and opportunities and we have begun to invest in new service channels and new solutions. By bringing state-of-the-art products to our customers we aim to further enhance the customer experience.