“It is when we are faced with the most challenging of circumstances that the need for a more cooperative world is highlighted, and mutual and cooperative organisations are seen to make a difference in terms of the social value they are capable of creating,” says Alberto Grimaldi, CEO of Argentinian ICMIF member the La Segunda Insurance Group, when speaking about the series of solidarity measures that the company has been making in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among these measures is an initiative developed by La Segunda’s biotech company DetXMol S.A. to develop early detection kits for viruses such as COVID-19 and other types of flu virus with the help of two scientists and the Foundation of the Institute of Molecular Biology of Rosario. This company, originally founded for the development of biological kits for the early detection of uterine cancer, has now invested heavily in the import of reagents to accelerate research to develop these early detection kits for viruses including COVID-19.
“With the spirit of solidarity and cooperativism as our main focus, we are working to care for people in the community, through preventive actions that help stop the spread of the disease and we are also providing resources to contribute to the health system and institutions that need support to provide aid to the most vulnerable sectors,” said Grimaldi. For this reason, La Segunda is making a significant investment at national, provincial and municipal levels, through a federal programme that is trying to reach all regions of Argentina. Along with the initiative above led by DetXMol, the collaborations that La Segunda is involved in include supporting institutions such as the Argentine Red Cross and the Argentine Food Bank Network, the Rosario Food Bank, the Municipality of Rosario, the Víctor J. Vilela Children’s Hospital and organizations dedicated to the construction of temporary field hospitals.
A variety of tools for customers have also been developed by La Segunda to provide flexible online services to provide responses to the specific problems that members policyholders are experiencing now during the pandemic. In addition, the cooperative insurer has carried out a strong campaign to encourage customers to access the La Segunda customer “NetVos” app, where they can carry out all the necessary transactions they need to for their insurance policies, with a strong emphasis for customers on using digital ways of interacting with the insurer. At the same time, from the very early stages of the pandemic in Argentina, the La Segunda customer service team has been strengthened, especially on social networks, and service hours have been extended on all channels.
La Segunda has also worked closely with its partner organisations, which has led to activities including the manufacture of facemasks which will be donated to institutions which need them, for the elderly, keyworkers and other volunteers.
“With these initiatives we continue to fulfil our principal mission: to provide protection to people and our patrimony and to provide and protect sources of work, with the highest levels of seriousness, empathy and service.” concluded Grimaldi.
A small change to say something big
La Segunda has also introduced a temporary change in its brand image to express its closeness to its community of members during the difficult times the world is going through with the addition of the words “Stay at home” in the company’s logo.
Through this small change in the organisation’s branding, La Segunda aims to promote respect for the guidelines around social isolation and the preventive measures which are currently in force in Argentina and which, the organisation believes, are the most important measures that people can and must take to help combat this pandemic.
