Zurich's UK Commercial Business Appoints Fortune Cookie

16.1.2003

Zurich's UK commercial business has appointed independent web specialist Fortune Cookie to design a new look and feel for its website. 

In re-developing their existing website, the project will focus on developing a modern visual language and providing an enhanced experience for users, with particular emphasis on supporting commercial insurance brokers. This will include translating the newly evolved Zurich brand, the incorporation of appropriate imagery and other design elements and the development of a simple, intuitive navigation structure. 

Catherine Ward-Brown, Fortune Cookie's New Business Development Director commented, "We are delighted to be working with Zurich on this high profile project. Our aim is to position Zurich's UK Commercial business as an innovative contributor to shaping the UK commercial insurance market by providing a unique online experience to intermediaries and customers." 

"Our objective is to refresh the already successful commercial site, enhancing the user experience for Zurich's brokers as a key transactional tool to placing small business insurance quickly and efficiently. And we'll be restructuring and adding content to create more value for brokers and business customers," said David Smith, Distribution and Marketing Manager for Zurich's UK Commercial division. "Based on feedback from our intermediaries, we aim to deliver exceptional service focusing on the things that really matter, allowing online users to achieve their objectives quickly and efficiently." 

Fortune Cookie Designer Gavin Fox highlighted the key design challenges for financial services websites. "We need to develop a creative style that primarily satisfies a B2B audience without alienating the end customer. Our approach is designed to engage the user, using the aesthetic style to convey confidence to the end customer and professionalism and expertise to the brokers." 

Fortune Cookie has an excellent track record in the online financial services sector with a client base that includes Legal & General, Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow and Miller Insurance. The company has a growing reputation for delivering innovative online applications that meet business objectives and deliver a measurable return on investment. 

Note: 

Fortune Cookie is a leading UK web development company that specialises in delivering world-class websites and online business innovation. 

Established in 1997, Fortune Cookie provides a complementary range of services designed to allow clients to connect with their customers and stakeholders and extend their reach across the web. Services include online strategy, creative vision, interface design, usability and accessibility services coupled with specialist technical skills and strong project management principles. 

In-house work practices have been designed to streamline the development process to allow delivery on time and to budget whilst affording the necessary disciplines to effectively control a web project. In addition, their development process has been designed around the principles of accessibility technical standards as well as interface design protocols. 

Their accessibility standards are based on the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines and extend the principles they recommend. 

Zurich's UK Commercial Business (ZUKC) is the UK commercial insurance arm of the global Zurich Financial Services group. One of the UK's leading commercial insurers, ZUKC has over 150,000 UK based customers and a gross written premium in 2001 in excess of £700 million. The company's aim is to set new industry standards in servicing brokers in providing for business customers insurance and risk management needs. 

Recent initiatives have placed ZUKC at the forefront of industry developments. Using pioneering technology they offer tailored products, complete risk management consultancy, fast and efficient claims handling and an extensive range of additional services. They were the first insurer to remove the need for proposal forms from all main classes of business. 

The Zurich Financial Services Group is a global leader in the financial services industry, providing its customers with solutions in the area of financial protection and asset accumulation. 

Headquartered in Zurich, 
Switzerland, the Group's worldwide presence builds on strong positions in its three key markets - the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. It has offices in more than 60 countries reaching 35 million customers and employing 73,000 people.