The essence of insurance is solidarity and responsibility. It is a mutualisation of risks, which protects people against the consequences of those risks. Insurance precedes the ideas of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), not in its philanthropic facet but in its evolved conception. Sustainability is currently defined through the generation of shared value, both inside and outside of organisations. However, this correlation is maximised when it is a cooperative organisation.
Today, Río Uruguay Seguros (RUS) believe that CSR policies have an impact on profitability based on an organisation’s reputation, legitimacy of brand and trust among all stakeholder groups. It increases productivity and motivation, allowing organisations to reinvent products, explore new marketing channels, and to become engaged in the circular economy.
RUS believe organisations are already innovating in the social dimension but conditions must be met to ensure sustainability leads to profitability in a virtuous cycle. All CSR activities must generate internal value for an organisation, as well as outward for all groups that an organisation interacts with. Evidence points to cooperative and mutual companies being strongest in this area.
RUS is a principles-based cooperative established in a small city in the centre of Argentina. They respect the cooperative philosophy and have integrated the principles of the UN Global Compact, OECD guidelines, and the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. These underpin its philosophy that growth, inclusion and sustainability should be the underlying objectives of an organisation.
However, RUS wanted to modify the organisational model to improve the quality of the lives of people by having a specific impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and working together and in partnership with all stakeholders.
Cultural change
RUS embarked on a voyage in 2020 to make its organisational model stronger, with a commitment to sustainability, equality and inclusion firmly part of their growth strategy.
Before this, in 2018 RUS put in place changes to generate a more horizontal business model, eliminating different management units to create more harmony. In 2019, it commemorated its 60th anniversary by planning to move to RUS Digital, a new business model focused on digitalisation and improving the customer experience.
The pandemic brought about a move to a 100% work-from- home environment in 2020. RUS focused on supporting the mental wellbeing of employees during this period, especially for the female workforce as the the distribution of domestic household work is unbalanced in Argentina.
RUS began to rethink its CSR policy to include sustainability. It embarked on designing flexible products to put the customer at the heart with a real focus on improving their quality of life (for example, road safety and behavioural change for customers to avoid car accidents and hospitalisation).
Inclusive insurance and gender equity
Democratising access to insurance for everyone is fundamentally important to RUS. For certain demographics across Argentina, people had needs that were being unprovided for by the insurance sector. RUS took an empathetic approach and began working with local authorities and communities to provide inclusive insurance, of which there are now five outlets with different coverages in low-income neighbourhoods.
The insurer is also rewarding people who demonstrate sustainable behaviour, such as reducing pollution and actively protect the environment. Another initiative is through co-participation where RUS set up a pet insurance policy which, when underwritten, then helps dogs or cats move from shelters to homes.
RUS have also addressed the topic of gender equality, focussing on females with the product “RUS Salud Fem” which caters for their biological needs. The product is also being transferred into a microinsurance product which can be purchased at any time at an affordable price.
It also launched a unique new insurance cover that will allow access to comprehensive health services for transgender people in Argentina, mainly during the transition process. Further work on transgender issues include sponsoring athletes, scholarships and training for the community, as well as fair gender representation in company meetings.
RUS believes every person wants a purpose in their life, and that “no one cannot love what it doesn’t know”. RUS believe they can change the quality of life for people, and that this purpose is something all organisations can achieve.
