Meet the Pros: Roman Hannig – Head of Client Engagement (Europe)

1. Can you tell us a little about your background and how you became Head of Client Engagement at Pro Global in Germany?

I am a fully qualified lawyer and have been working in the insurance industry for over 20 years. During my time as an independent lawyer, direct client contact was always at the forefront of my work – my law firm mainly handled corporate clients. In 2011, I joined General Re Insurance AG. As a claims executive, I focused on complex biometric claims and supporting German primary insurers. Close interaction with the market was a key priority for me. Through regular visits, events and workshops, I was able to build long-standing relationships based on trust. 

My current role at Pro Global ties in seamlessly with this experience – the move from reinsurer to leading service provider for biometric claims verification was an exciting change of perspective for me. I find working with a dynamic, interdisciplinary team particularly appealing. 

2. What does your day-to-day work as Head of Client Engagement look like, and what do you enjoy most about it?

No two days are the same. I regularly visit our clients – most recently in Hamburg together with our Head of Claims. Even in an increasingly digital world, direct and personal interaction is still very important to me. 

In addition to numerous online meetings, which are managed operationally and which I support, I take the opportunity to get to know our clients better.  

The aim is always to continuously improve our services and the underlying processes. 

Another focus is on internal cooperation – whether in relation to customer issues, marketing activities, IT innovations or new product ideas. In addition, I deal with data protection issues and take on classic legal tasks such as drafting and coordinating contracts. 

Our top priority is to provide our clients with long-term support at the highest professional level. 

That is why I am actively involved in training and provide selective support in day-to-day operations, particularly in complex claims cases. My contribution is intended to further strengthen quality and efficiency in order to sustainably expand our expertise and effectiveness in the German market. 

3. How would you describe the current landscape of the biometrics insurance market in Germany, and what important trends do you see?

We continue to see steady growth in biometric products, although I believe the market is increasingly consolidating and is dominated by the major players. 

There is a lot of movement, particularly in the area of product development: basic insurance, sick leave modules, updated terms and conditions, and long-term care and dread disease insurance are becoming noticeably more important. Overall, there is a trend towards greater personalisation, i.e. tailor-made insurance rates that take greater account of the individual risk behaviour of customers. 

In addition, digitalisation has gained momentum, both in terms of risk assessment and claims assessment. Although there are still differences between companies at present, these are likely to become increasingly uniform in the future. 

This is also changing sales and consulting, where personal contact is increasingly being supplemented by digital processes. 

4. What challenges and opportunities do insurers and customers face in the biometric sector, and how does Pro help them to overcome these?

The insurance industry is currently facing a number of challenges. In addition to ever-increasing data protection and regulatory requirements, there is a growing need to make internal processes more efficient while ensuring transparency and modern, digital communication with customers. At the same time, the integration of digital technologies and artificial intelligence into operational processes is advancing – a development that requires not only technical expertise but also broad acceptance among the workforce. 

In addition, there are already noticeable staff shortages in some claims departments, which are likely to become even more acute as the baby boomer generation enters retirement. At the same time, the world of work is undergoing fundamental change: the willingness and opportunity to change employers has increased, which is increasingly calling into question the previously often close and long-standing employee loyalty. 

On the customer side, I see a thoroughly positive perception: thanks to modern digital solutions, customers benefit from faster and more transparent review processes and optimised communication via both digital and traditional channels. The range of services is supplemented by services such as digital application processes. 

In addition, continuous product enhancements and a growing product diversity already enable individually tailored coverage of existential risks.  

Greater transparency ultimately leads to greater trust. 

At Pro, we see ourselves as an active partner on an equal footing, accompanying and helping to shape the transformation of the industry. As a leading provider of biometric risk processing in Germany, we have a team of 35 highly qualified claims adjusters with extensive experience and expertise. This enables us to support primary insurers flexibly and in line with their needs – whether through comprehensive claims processing or targeted medical and legal assessments. We offer complete outsourcing solutions for companies with low claims volumes, while our qualified staff can step in at short notice to provide temporary support. 

In addition, we advise insurers on strategic and operational matters relating to the optimisation of their specialist processes, the improvement of claims handling quality and the introduction of technical support. We develop our own AI tools and digital systems, which we currently use internally but will also make available to the market in the future. 

5. What advice would you give to insurers operating in the biometrics insurance market in Germany?

I see a number of overarching issues that we as an industry need to address. These include, above all, the need to create attractive and flexible working models and to invest specifically in the training and development of our employees – always in conjunction with an open attitude towards new technologies. 

It is crucial to involve the workforce in change processes at an early stage and to sensitively address and dispel any reservations about new systems. Despite all the momentum towards digitalisation, we must not lose sight of the human aspect. Customer focus, personal availability and transparent review processes remain key success factors for me.  

At the same time, we are facing new challenges in claims assessment – for example, due to rising numbers of claims, but also new products and product variants. 

Field service is a personal concern of mine – an area in which I myself worked for many years and whose added value I still consider highly relevant, especially in more complex claims cases. In my view, the demand for efficiency must not lead to personal contact becoming less important. 

As a partner on equal terms, we bring steadily growing expertise and a broad service portfolio to our collaboration with insurers. I hope that this article will be seen as an opportunity to work together to ensure quality and flexibility in claims processing in the long term.