For the second consecutive year DZI won first place at the “Insurers for Society” competition, organized by the Association of Bulgarian Insurers (ABI) and the Bulgarian Association of Insurance Brokers (BAIB).

The insurance company with the longest history in Bulgaria took the leadership position in the one-of-a-kind competition for corporate social responsibility in the Insurance sector thanks to its initiative “Provision of a free-of-charge insurance protection to the medics on the front line combating COVID-19 and digitalization of key processes for its clients”.

In the beginning of April DZI became the first company to aid the medical employees and other personnel working in medical centers that treat Coronavirus in Sofia, by providing them with free Life insurances with COVID-19 coverage. The total number of the insured medics is 1116 people and the currently paid indemnities are 34, in the amount of BGN 43 500, as meanwhile the insurer has extended the term of validity of the insurance by another 6 months. The award is an especially valuable recognition of DZI's work in favour of society, as the winner is elected after a vote between the insurance and brokerage companies - members of both associations.

DZI's support in the beginning of the pandemic was preceded by several initiatives by UBB, also combating Coronavirus. Both companies, part of the Belgian financial group KBC, also received the highest award in the category “Sustainable policies during Covid-19” at the tenth edition of the “Green Business Oscars”, organized by b2b Media. Cumulatively, the support from KBC Group for combating Coronavirus, currently exceeds BGN 360 000 and it is still growing. UBB's contribution served for the modernization of the specialized laboratory at the Military Medical Academy for Coronavirus testing, as donations were also made to 8 hospitals around the country. Furthermore, UBB and DZI managed to digitalize a significant part of their services within just a few months after the start of the pandemic, in order to secure their remote and safe use by the clients.

“Alongside the efforts to make the branches of all companies from KBC Group in Bulgaria safe over the last months by providing protection fencing, disinfectants, masks and gloves, the needed distance, one much more serious task stood before us - to make sure that all activities, traditional to banking and insurance, can be executed entirely remotely, easily and safely, without compromising our clients’ security. Precisely this was the biggest success for us and I am proud that our efforts are noticed and that they earned us the recognition of the professional community. The digitalization of services caught up with us quickly and even unexpectedly, but we showed what it means to us to be the reference on the market and to maintain the highest standards for work”, stated Peter Andronov, Chief Executive Officer of UBB and Country Manager of KBC Group in Bulgaria.

KBC Group received one more award for corporate social responsibility - first prize in the category “Green PR campaign” at the same competition for the project “Team Blue Goes Green”. Within the same project, a total of 3290 employees of UBB, DZI, UBB Interlease and UBB’s subsidiaries took part in over 50 Eco initiatives and thus “conquered” 3290 trees for Bulgaria. The seedlings are growing in 10 regions of the country, as the employees of the group are most proud of the rejuvenation of the burnt down forest in Lovets village, near Veliki Preslav and the burnt land fields of Drenkovo village, near Blagoevgrad.