Weather disaster: ERGO providing assistance for affected customers and employees

Germany has been in a state of emergency since last week. The states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate bore the brunt of the destructive low-pressure system “Bernd”, and damage from heavy rainfall and flooding has been especially severe in these regions. In response to the situation, ERGO has put together a comprehensive package of measures to enable prompt and uncomplicated help for any affected customers and employees. The measures range from emergency assistance for customers with natural hazard cover to the offer of additional services and psychological support. ERGO is also donating to the charity “ergo: wir helfen” to support regional aid projects.

“Our claims service, experts and adjusters, along with our sales partners, are currently doing everything they can to provide customers with prompt and uncomplicated support. Many are hearing horrifying stories from people who have lost everything they possess, or who are grieving the loss of loved ones. As insurers, we will, of course, play our part in trying to minimise the material impact. But society’s responsibility extends far beyond this,” said Mathias Scheuber, member of the Board of Management of ERGO Deutschland AG with responsibility for property-casualty insurance, and head of the ERGO crisis management team set up to deal with the effects of the extreme weather. “More than ever, each individual measure and each offer of assistance counts,” he added.

Client support

ERGO immediately put together a comprehensive package of measures that includes emergency assistance for customers with natural hazard cover. ERGO already made payments on Saturday (17 July) to customers in this context. So far, the company has provided emergency assistance in the form of advance payments to almost 200 severely affected customers. This will cover any immediate financial gaps, allowing essential purchases to be made.

Further measures:

•  Sales partners can now ensure the direct release of up to €5,000 for customers with insurance cover who have been affected by the floods.
• Psychological support for affected customers and sales partners.
• Full service for motor vehicle write-offs. The vehicles will be collected from the customer, the replacement value calculated, and the claim amount then credited to the customer.
• Access to ERGO’s network of tradesmen, to ensure the rapid drying and repair of the damage.

Assistance for affected employees

In its own staff ERGO colleagues are also struggling with the impact from the heavy rain and weather disaster. In this situation, ERGO is standing together in solidarity with the affected colleagues. ERGO has a wide range of options available to ensure maximum flexibility, and give those affected the necessary freedom. These include the flexible use and allowance of any collectively agreed leave or outstanding flexitime, as well as the granting of paid leave for voluntary work in civil defence and disaster management (e.g. THW or fire service). Employees who are not affected, but wish to provide personal support, can directly transfer hours from their personal ERGO overtime to affected colleagues.

Donations to regional aid projects

As part of an emergency aid campaign, ERGO has made a donation to the charity “ergo: wir helfen” and called on its employees to donate as well. These contributions will be distributed for a specific purpose to eligible projects. All employees and sales partners can submit their recommendations for suitable aid projects in the affected regions.