Insurance isn’t sexy. If you ask Zurich’s chief customer officer, Conny Kalcher, she’ll tell you otherwise. But it didn’t start that way for her.
Kalcher joined the company after a 33-year career at the toy giant Lego. The industries are like chalk and cheese—and their customers, too.
Yet Kalcher saw an opportunity for Zurich to educate Gen Z about all things financial. It was the company’s chance to turn insurance’s cold and distant approach into something more accessible.
“I did think it would be men in suits, being very formal and doing things in a particular way. But that’s not at all the case,” Kalcher told Fortune in an interview.
The Swiss company has been around for 150 years, starting as a humble marine insurer in 1872. It has weathered several wars, natural disasters, pandemics, and more, making it the insurance behemoth it is today. But under Kalcher, who joined Zurich five years ago, the insurer has been transforming for the modern world—one that is threatened by climate change, cyberattacks, and an aging population.
Lessons from Lego
Lego’s reputation as a top toymaker precedes it. But Kalcher was at the company when things looked different.
“Lego is a very rich brand. If you dig into Lego’s history, it’s filled with strong narrative traditions, brand understanding, [and] customer understanding. It wasn’t always like that,” she said.
Through Kalcher’s three-decade career leading marketing and consumer experience efforts at Lego, there were low points for the company when it was verging on bankruptcy, something that feels unthinkable today, given the Danish company is outperforming the global toy industry.
Part of the reason Lego was able to turn its business around, Kalcher said, was because it prioritized shoppers and tried to go after what they wanted. In that sense, she doesn’t see insurance as very different.
“Of course, the two industries are super different,” Kalcher said. “However, customers are customers, and customers often want the same [thing].”
People want to feel catered to in a way that fits their needs and lifestyles. But often, that gets lost in insurers’ sea of technical jargon.
In Zurich’s case, although the company had seen remarkable global growth through its 100-plus-year history, it was still struggling to redefine itself. Roughly 70% of the company’s retail business comes from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It’s a competitive landscape where loyalty is hard to come by as pricing lures customers more.
“When I joined, the purpose was, ‘We’re here to protect you.’ Guess what? Every insurance company in the whole world is there to protect you. That doesn’t make you stand out,” Kalcher said. And that’s where she saw her role become key: making the company more relatable and undoing the “bad narrative” insurance had earned over time.
Changing how it’s done
Kalcher’s vision for the Swiss company is to make it the “Apple of Insurance.” Why? To set itself a high bar in how it reaches people and makes them feel cared for.
It’s no secret that Apple is great at understanding what its customers need, and one of its secrets is consistency. That’s probably why the company’s gadgets are the most widely used world over, from youngsters to the elderly. Zurich wants to build a similar relationship with its base, too.
Take Gen Z, for example. The group, born between 1997 and 2012, is beginning to enter the workforce in droves every year and, with time, will overtake their millennial counterparts. They’re a digitally savvy generation that has only ever known the world through technology.
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♬ original sound – Zurich Insurance
They’re also not as financially aware, opening new doors for Zurich, Kalcher said. However, that also means that the insurer needs to change its ways and make insurance more appealing to its younger audience.
“We use TikTok in some countries to talk with that generation, and that works very well. Instagram as well,” Kalcher said. The goal is to be fun, engaging, and reliable for Gen Z and beyond.
Zurich’s short videos on TikTok and Instagram, some of which have gained over 10 million views, discuss various topics, from protecting oneself financially while on vacation to busting myths about car insurance. Since 2021, when Zurich launched its Instagram handle, it said it has seen a 96% growth in its follower count. Meanwhile, since the launch of its TikTok the following year, it’s seen a 430% growth.
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♬ Originalton – Zurich Insurance
Kalcher’s thinking is simple: “It’s about starting to become relevant by showing up in the places where these customers are. Then it’s about having the right offers for these customers as well.”
The company is also simplifying how it communicates with people using AI, making it easier to find information and making the information easier to understand.
Ultimately, Kalcher wants people to see Zurich as a unique company that is changing for its customers.
“I would like our customers to start talking about us as different, as really being there for them,” she said. “That would be the ultimate accolade for us.”
A version of this story was originally published on Fortune.com on August 19, 2024.
