Sharing our recipe for customer service excellence

With more than a decade of service across multiple business lines, Katharina Burger, Account Underwriter SME, exemplifies the level of expertise our customers access when they contact Allianz Trade.

Having served in our Sales Support and Corporate Advantage teams before becoming an underwriter, Katharina reveals her secret to exemplary customer service. “At Allianz Trade we treat our clients the way we would like to be treated,” she says. “We strive to be empathetic and service-orientated while keeping our clients’ economic goals in mind.”

While Katharina’s blueprint for customer satisfaction sounds disarmingly simple, in reality she and her colleagues possess a high level of professional expertise, enabling them to swiftly understand client challenges from their perspective, gather the necessary information, formulate a solution and successfully implement that solution. Katharina has demonstrated time and time again that she can keep her clients fully informed during this process.

Despite this impressive skill set, Katharina remains refreshingly modest about her abilities. She says: “I recently received an email from a policyholder that said: ‘Working with you makes doing business with Allianz Trade very enjoyable.’ ”

“What did I do? Not much. I promptly attended to their needs, took care of their concerns and prioritised service orientation. Not much, really!”

Katharina says our clients can access a wealth of expertise with the minimum of fuss. “Simply send an email or make a call. I personally respond to emails within 24 hours and make sure to return calls by the next morning at the very latest.”

“Some of my policyholders are genuinely surprised by the quick service we deliver, especially new customers. Existing customers, of course, are already familiar with our level of service!”

When our customers contact us, they immediately access experts with deep sector experience. Nicole Zloch is a prime example of the customer service experts we nurture. A bank economist and graduate of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Nicole has worked for Allianz Trade for more than two decades, accumulating a formidable wealth of sector experience along the way. 

While working across a rich tapestry of roles, one important aspect of our customer service colleagues remains constant – the need for customer-centricity. “Throughout my career, Allianz Trade has always helped me maintain focus on customer management and direct customer interaction,” Nicole says.

For the past five years, Nicole has been a Senior Account Underwriter in the customer service team, managing her own client portfolio of specialist brokers.

“At Allianz Trade we recognise that every customer inquiry is unique and cannot be addressed in a cookie-cutter manner. Each customer has their own perspective and wants us to listen and understand them.”

“Our customers don’t call unless they have a problem, so it's important they know we will prioritise their query. A promised call-back on the same day will also be honoured. Even though my current customers are brokers, their expectations are higher. And the more complex the situation, the more it excites me to find a solution!”

Nicole explains that this focus on customer-centricity is key to both customer satisfaction and repeat business. “Specialised brokers expect prompt and direct responses, and if we can provide them, they will come back to us,” she says. 

“Reliability is key in customer interactions. Helpfulness, punctuality and reliability have always been my top priorities. These qualities are highly valued at Allianz Trade, and I take pride in being part of a team that is the face of the company for our customers and brokers.”