Develop the customer proposition and experience

Time invested in the customer

In South Africa, Old Mutual Finance has broadened its customer value proposition, expanded service reach and engaged face to face with target customers through a retail branch network.

In November 2008 it introduced a debt consolidation lending product called My Money Plan which is now a market leader. What makes it special is that it educates customers and helps them to look at their finances holistically during a 45 minute consultation. As a result they are asking us how Old Mutual can help them achieve their other financial goals.

Positive customer feedback

In the two years since the launch the business has built 117* new branches offering Old Mutual life assurance products, loans and customer service. It has hired and trained 960 staff; and grown a lending book of R2.7 billion. It is now serving over 30,000 customers a month through its branches.

Customers are clearly feeling the benefit: their feedback indicates that the business has been very well received in the marketplace. Annual insurance sales from the branches reached R100 million; and Old Mutual Finance achieved a profit of R80 million in 2010.

Notes
* As at December 2010

Accessing insurance through different channels

Customers can now buy short-term insurance from us directly - through iWYZE, a collaboration between Mutual & Federal and Old Mutual. It enables Old Mutual to offer a new product to its customer base while allowing M&F to expand its customer channel capability and reach.

We launched iWYZE in just eight months with relatively low capital spend. In the eight months since the public launch the business has grown to over 150 staff members with close to 5,000 active policies and R36 million* of annualised premium income. Besides using Old Mutual's distribution channels, iWYZE taps into all our traditional and emerging digital marketing channels to drive business. Thanks to the Old Mutual brand, market insight and distribution capabilities, and state-of-theart systems and processes, iWYZE is already competing effectively with longer-established direct players in South Africa - and is very well positioned to capture a significant part of this emerging market.