The German travel insurer HanseMerkur is coming to the Netherlands. Last summer, it was announced via German media that the company had its eyes on the Dutch market. In the meantime, Jasper Wiersema has been appointed as country manager for the Netherlands. “I’m going to drink a lot of cups of coffee.” Wiersema describes HanseMerkur as ‘a long-standing and respected insurance company’. Its history dates back to 1875. In that year, a subsidiary of HanseMerkur, a health insurance company, was founded. This makes HanseMerkur the second oldest private health insurer in Germany. Officially, HanseMerkur Reiseversicherung was founded in 1977 as an independent company, the travel insurance branch, but long before that time the company was already selling travel products. HanseMerkur is now one of Germany’s leading travel insurers. Ten years ago, HanseMerkur crossed the border. First, a foreign branch was opened in Vienna for the Austrian market. Warsaw followed in 2015 and Liechtenstein in 2018 for the Swiss market. And now the Netherlands. When asked why the Netherlands was chosen, Wiersema says: ‘The Netherlands is very similar to Germany in terms of culture. The Dutch are also very keen on travelling. The step to the Dutch market is therefore obvious. The Netherlands is a promising market in this respect. In addition, we look at the countries in which our existing partners are active, so that we can offer one package for all countries. For example, Sunny Cars is a partner that we already know from Germany. We have a framework contract with internationally operating companies, which we can tailor to each country.’ According to Wiersema, HanseMerkur wants to make a quiet entrance into the Dutch market.
‘We are not a start-up that wants to conquer market share quickly. So we won’t be gone within six months. We are coming to the Netherlands for the longer term. Our starting point is that travel insurance is a by-product for the agent and not the main task. Booking travel insurance should therefore be easy. We offer personal support, where agents can ask questions over the phone via a partner desk.’ Most travel companies already work with an insurer. How do you proceed in a displacement market? “Indeed, most companies already have a solution for their insurance product. That is why we are first going to announce the name HanseMerkur and put it on the market. In the next step, I want to approach parties with the question of what I can do for them. I think I’m going to drink a lot of cups of coffee. By the way, HanseMerkur is an association, we work for our members and therefore do not strive for profit maximization, but for customer optimization. ́ Are there any Dutch customers already in the picture with whom HanseMerkur is already working in other countries? ‘These are indeed originally German companies, such as Sunny Cars and FTI, but also the German e-hoi, which owns Zeetours and Cruisewinkel.nl in the Netherlands, among others. We work together on the basis of an insurance product that is tailored to the Dutch market.’ Are there many differences per country when it comes to travel insurance? ‘In Europe, you see a lot of differences per country, partly depending on local legislation. It is tailor-made for each country. An example: healthcare costs during a holiday that are not covered by the health insurer are covered by the travel insurer. But the rules for this vary from country to country. For example, healthcare costs in the US are very high. You are almost obliged to take out travel insurance, because otherwise you will be faced with high costs if things go wrong.’ How important is the role of the travel agent for HanseMerkur? ‘Very important. When booking a holiday, purchasing travel insurance is a logical step. Suppose the customer books a cruise for 8,000 euros, which is a hefty amount. Then that’s the right time to offer travel insurance for that expensive trip. We call this ’embedded insurance’. If you’ve just paid a large amount for your vacation, you’re also willing to pay something for good travel insurance. A good travel insurance helps to prevent more misery if something goes wrong.’ How does HanseMerkur enter the Dutch market? With low prices? ‘We work with premiums in line with the market, in the middle segment of the market. We are not a price fighter, but we are not the most expensive travel insurer either. We have invested in good systems that make it very easy for the agent to book our product. Then they can concentrate on booking beautiful trips.’ (box) Who is… Jasper Wiersema has been HanseMerkur’s country manager for the Netherlands since August this year. He gained his experience in the field of insurance at Kingpolis, a specialist in bicycle insurance, where he worked for almost 15 years. As a group, HanseMerkur had 2.6 billion euros in premium income last year. Premium income for the “Travel & Leisure” segment increased by 46 percent to 267.6 million euros in 2022. This is 11.8 percent higher than before the pandemic. The largest share of premium income for ‘Travel & Leisure’ (40 percent) was related to cancellation insurance. In Germany, HanseMerkur also works closely with tour operators, travel agencies and airlines. Photo: Jasper Wiersema, country manager Netherlands of HanseMerkur.
