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Insurance Business Review: Specials Magazine
Daniela Badaluta rarely describes RECREX as a conventional claims company. She talks about flexibility first. Larger organisations, she says, naturally develop layers of structure that make change slower. RECREX has chosen to stay entrepreneurial, giving its teams the freedom to respond quickly, make decisions without unnecessary bureaucracy and adapt to each insurer's way of working. The flexibility reflects the company's belief that every insurer faces different operational challenges, reporting requirements and customer expectations. Rather than asking clients to adapt to a fixed process, RECREX adapts its approach to fit theirs. "We're an entrepreneurial company. We adapt, we're flexible and we always look first to the interests of the insurer. We want them to see us as colleagues, not simply as a provider," says Daniela, President and Founder of RECREX. ... Read More
Credit Insurance Service
Running a business without a proper credit risk strategy is like setting sail with no weather report. The skies might look clear, but one wrong move—a late payment, a defaulting customer, an uninsured shipment—and suddenly you’re in a storm. That’s the reality many midsize, multinational firms have faced for years. They are too big for one-size-fits-all insurance, too complex for off-the-shelf advice and too often left dealing with providers who offer products rather than partnerships. GfK Gesellschaft für Kreditversicherungsservice doesn’t do pre-packaged solutions. For over three decades, it has acted less like a broker and more like a guide, helping clients wade risk with precision, responsiveness and uncommon care. Its expertise spans credit insurance, factoring advisory and global risk implementation and its value lies in how these tools are applied. GfK helps companies secure receivables, strengthen liquidity and confidently enter new markets through a tailored strategy. “We centre everything on craft. It’s not glamorous work, but for our clients looking to grow without capsizing, we’re the difference between steering blind and staying one step ahead of the waves,” says Winfried Vogt, owner and CEO. That depth of service is reinforced by reach. GfK’s international network, FaroSol, co-founded by Winfried Vogt and Angelo Piazzoli, COO and MD, enables the firm to combine local expertise with a global perspective. Clients receive proper support, wherever they trade, anchored by people who understand the risks and the ground realities. Managing Risk with Custom Solutions Navigation is only as good as the map guiding it. At GfK, that map is drawn from a forensic understanding of each client’s receivables structure and the risks embedded in every transaction. This level of insight ensures that before any policy is written, GfK can pinpoint exposure and understand how a single disruption, like a late payment or buyer default, could ripple through the business. The team designs credit insurance programmes that support broader business resilience and growth. These solutions support liquidity, strengthen balance sheets and unlock financing that might otherwise remain out of reach. For long-term capital goods projects, GfK structures policies up to 60 months, far beyond the traditional 12-month limit. Manufacturing risk is built in, protecting production costs even before delivery. For high-value or one-off orders with no payment history, insured claims are used as collateral to give businesses leverage to negotiate refinancing. ... Read More
Underwriting Agency
Underwriting is the sharp edge of insurance where data, judgment, and protection come together, yet for many businesses it feels like a blunt instrument. Too often, they are handed off-the-shelf policies that ignore the very different exposures of a logistics firm, a fintech startup, or a manufacturer. The process only adds to the mismatch, buried under bureaucracy and fragmented data that barely reflect a company’s real risk profile. The result is quotes that feel arbitrary, coverage that doesn’t fit, and clients left unprotected when it matters most. This collides with a risk landscape that does not wait. Businesses face growing threats from breaches, data misuse, and fraud. Traditional cyber insurance focuses only on financial indemnity after damage is done, leaving firms exposed to disruption and reputational harm. With cyber threats evolving monthly, regulations shifting overnight, and new technologies creating risks policy language cannot capture, most programs remain reactive, offering little continuity as businesses grow or pivot. EXSEL Underwriting Agency specializes in bridging the gap between rigid underwriting models and evolving client needs. By positioning underwriting as a partnership anchored in adaptability, technical expertise, and a genuine understanding of client risks, the firm helps brokers and their clients manage emerging and professional risks with confidence and clarity. “Our role is to set a higher standard of protection, and we ensure that by providing brokers with smarter products, sharper tools, and the expertise to navigate complexity with confidence,” says Álvaro Satrustegui, CEO. Smart Solutions for Emerging and Everyday Risks EXSEL’s flagship product, Escudo Ciber, is a complete cyber-risk and privacy incident solution that goes beyond traditional cyber insurance by delivering a full incident response ecosystem. It gives insured clients access to a 24/7 hotline, crisis management and PR support, regulatory compliance oversight under GDPR and NIS2, digital forensics, and root cause analysis. Partnerships with leading forensic and legal firms provide clients real-time support, with an average engagement time of less than four hours from notification. Recognizing that risk extends beyond digital threats, EXSEL created Personas Clave, an exclusive protection designed especially for company leaders that addresses the human dimension of business continuity. This innovative “Key Man” hybrid indemnity model provides financial support for disability caused by illness or accident while ensuring operational resilience through services such as interim executive placement and advisory support. Coverage can be distributed across multiple critical roles, such as CTO or compliance officer, to help clients recover from the loss of key talent and maintain operational continuity. Extending its focus on resilience, EXSEL introduced Pyme, an all-in-one simplified SME insurance package to meet the everyday needs of small and medium enterprises. Designed after extensive conversations with business owners and brokers, it responds to the demand for insurance that is simpler, faster, and more flexible. Positioned as the bridge between a digital-first approach and strong underwriting expertise, EXSEL Pyme offers clients a product that is straightforward to place and backed by the quality the firm is known for. ... Read More
CXO INSIGHTS
How Open Insurance can learn from Open Banking
Stefan Stignas, Head of Customer Journey Management, SEB
Risk And Insurance Management in the Shipping and Cruising Business
Rocco Bozzelli, Head of Global Insurance, MSC Cruises
The Importance of Maximising Customer Experience in The Claims Handling Process
Ignacio Gamez Sainz, Head of Claims, Prima
Driving Agile Transformations in Credit Insurance
Jose Luis Piedrola Nadal, ITS Director, Atradius
Risk Management Enters the New Age
Sotiris Papakonstantinou, Head of Risk Management, Optima Bank
IN FOCUS
TPA Insurance Solutions in Europe Driving Operational Efficiency
TPA insurance solutions in Europe enhance efficiency, streamline claims, ensure compliance, technology-driven insurance operations and customer experience improvements.
Europe's Evolving Landscape: Insurance and Investment Solutions for a New Era
European insurance and investment businesses are adapting through regulatory discipline, technology, data management, and flexible financial strategies.
EDITORIAL
RECREX: Bringing Clarity to Complex Claims
Insurance is being shaped by pressures that extend beyond claims settlement, from cross-border complexity and fraud to digital transformation and the need to strengthen public understanding of the industry. This edition of Insurance Business Review Europe examines how expertise, technology and human judgment are influencing that evolution.
At the center is RECREX, named TPA Insurance Solutions of the Year in Europe 2026 for its approach to complex claims administration. The organization has based their model on flexibility, cross-border knowledge and independence for over 20 years by tailoring its services according to the insurer’s needs and not following a particular process. The organization’s services include claims management, technical evaluations, fraud prevention, legal coordination and portfolio analysis.
The edition also considers insurance from a broader perspective. Stefan Stignas, Head of Strategic Ownerships & Partnerships at SEB, focuses on exploring new banking models and strategic partnerships that can help financial institutions respond to changing customer expectations. His perspective highlights the importance of experimentation, collaboration and forward-looking approaches in shaping the future of banking.
Barbara Liebich-Steiner, Chief Digital Officer and Head of Digital & Customer Solutions at UNIQA Insurance Group, brings the focus to transformation. Her key point is that transformation is about having faith in the idea being created. She stresses that technology should enable people, not substitute for them, while faith, empathy and culture change are the foundation of successful technology implementation.
Together, these perspectives show an industry balancing technical capability with judgment, trust and human understanding. We invite readers to explore the stories and consider what these approaches mean for insurance’s next chapter.
