We are far from the trivial reasons for business events. On April 25, 2024, a business idea without parallel in the Bulgarian market was presented and celebrated – combining real estate with quality and affordable insurance solutions to maximize the long-term added value for consumers.
Gallardo Real Estate and Allianz Bulgaria became the founders of a sustainable partnership aimed at encouraging property owners, buyers, and tenants to consider the most valuable thing around them – the home where they and their loved ones live, the office where they work and drive their business – to be protected through high-level property insurance. While in Western European countries having property insurance is common practice, in Bulgaria the share of property insurance is the lowest in the EU.
According to a conducted survey, the lack of incentive for property insurance is not due to the population's purchasing power, but rather to insufficient awareness of the meaning, benefits, and specifics of insurance products. "The share of total premium income in GDP, expressed through the insurance penetration coefficient, has ranged from 2 to 2.4% over the years, while the average level for Europe in 2023 is 7.4%. These data outline the boundaries of the unrealized potential of our market," shared Toma Stanishev and Mihaela Georgieva, founders of the idea for the exclusive distribution of insurance solutions through the real estate market.
"Among our clients today are not only property owners, buyers, or tenants but also Bulgarian and foreign companies that, in addition to the benefits of property insurance, recognize the security through investment in health insurance, life insurance, investment insurance, as well as pension provision as an extremely important part of every working person's life."
The event was attended by the CEO of Allianz Bulgaria, Mr. Ioannis Kotsianos, who welcomed the guests. Allianz is a global leader in insurance and asset management. In the ranking of the leading consulting company Interbrand of the best global brands for 2023, Allianz was declared the number one insurance brand in the world. With extremely high expertise in developing multi-spectrum insurance solutions, risk assessment, and management, today the company is an innovator in Bulgaria with its digital developments in customer service. The customer satisfaction rating for the service offered by the company is 4.8 stars out of 5.
Let us start with the most important question for a new company. What sets you apart from the rest?
For us, insurance is not about the price or financial reward, but about expertise. I have worked in the insurance business for 10 years. Until now, I worked for an insurance company, and our current project is based on exclusive insurance mediation. The insurance brand that supported us at a very high level is Allianz - the number one brand in the world in terms of various insurance solutions for both retail and corporate customers. We have chosen a highly diversified insurer to invest in us as its ambassadors.
What is the connection with Galardo?
Toma Stanishev and I quickly developed a remarkable professional synergy, allowing us to thoroughly analyze the Bulgarian market. Sadly, we discovered that Bulgarians display a significant lack of insurance culture. Less than 10% of the Bulgarian population has property insurance, even though the home is one of the most important things to insure. Galardo’s main goal is to give its clients the opportunity to buy or rent a suitable home, and the insurance will add value to this service. A large part of our property insurance will come from Galardo, but we also aim to provide highly expert insurance to companies in Bulgaria, regardless of whether they use French, German, other foreign, or Bulgarian capital. This includes health insurance, liability, business property, automobile insurance, investments, as well as pension insurance. Our aim is to offer employers additional protection for their business and make their employees happier in their workplace.
How is Assure.Next evolving at the moment?
We already have a portfolio of completed projects and satisfied clients who appreciate our expertise in various areas of insurance and our quick response. We believe that the best advertising comes from satisfied customers. Additionally, we rely on digital assets in service and the Allianz name above the door of our first office. We are starting with this office, but our goal is to open two more in the next three years, in Plovdiv and Burgas – the cities that, in our opinion, are developing most dynamically and attractively in terms of parallel demand for real estate and insurance.
The office of Allianz in partnership with Galardo is located at G.S. Rakovski 96.
