Better forecasts mitigate risk at UNIQA

UNIQA insurance policies protect millions of people across Europe. To offer excellent, affordable services, the company must plan for the future and mitigate the risks that come from economic volatility. With Anaplan, UNIQA harnesses large volumes of data to drive detailed financial planning and forecasting. This ability enables company leaders to boost resiliency and adapt to global challenges with agility and speed.

UNIQA Insurance Group AG helps 16 million people across 18 countries protect their homes, businesses, and families with world-class insurance products. UNIQA’s ability to assess long-term risks accurately — by analyzing multiple economic variables and exploring potential scenarios — is key to its success and its customers’ peace of mind.

“COVID-19, rising global inflation, and multiple armed conflicts have created tremendous economic uncertainty,” reflects Roland Kliemstein, Head of Group Controlling at UNIQA. “As insurers, it’s our job to understand these complex situations and build a picture of likely risks so we can help our customers navigate uncertain times. Financial planning is one of the main ways we achieve this.”

As UNIQA adapted and enhanced its financial models to stay ahead of fast-changing global events, the company’s spreadsheet-based financial planning couldn’t keep pace with the growing volume and complexity of data. With new insurance-industry regulations set to drive up analytics complexity further still, Kliemstein and his colleagues at UNIQA looked for a financial planning and forecasting engine that could support complex calculations quickly and efficiently, even when confronted with massive volumes of data.

Looking into the future

After evaluating a variety of technologies, the UNIQA team selected Anaplan for the new approach. “With Anaplan we can rapidly process large quantities of data using sophisticated analytics models, so it’s the perfect solution to help us build a detailed picture of potential challenges that could lie ahead for UNIQA and our customers,” Kliemstein says.

After integrating Anaplan with its SAP solutions, including the Financial Products Subledger (FPSL), experts at UNIQA fine-tuned and tested the financial planning and analysis (FP&A) models and forecasts before moving them into production. The company also plans to develop novel estimation, impairment testing, and liquidity planning models to support compliance activities.

Improving collaboration and gaining insight

Kliemstein and his colleagues anticipate that the Anaplan solution will enable UNIQA’s planners to save time and gain deeper insights into an increasingly volatile global economy. “Anaplan helps us explore huge volumes of data along multiple dimensions,” explains Kliemstein. “Ultimately, this enables our team to reduce the time they spend preparing data and dedicate more time to analyzing the results of our forecasts and driving strategic decisions.”

UNIQA’s financial planning and forecasting processes in Anaplan are built with the latest industry regulations in mind to ensure ongoing compliance. “In redesigning our planning activities with Anaplan, we have baked compliance and best practices into every step,” comments Kliemstein. “This approach will also make it much easier to adapt to new regulatory demands in the years ahead and build reports to demonstrate our compliance.”

The solution also supports the company’s collaboration and efficiency goals. “With Anaplan, our teams work together smarter and faster so we can plan for the future and protect our customers,” says Kliemstein. “It gives us a central platform to share data and communicate ideas seamlessly, which helps every planner at UNIQA to work smarter and faster as we plan for the future.”