• More than 270,000 people¹ in France suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). 
• BNP Paribas Cardif is facilitating access to insurance coverage for people affected by IBD, taking into account recent advances in treatment. 
• This initiative reflects the insurer’s longstanding policy of improving access to insurance under optimal conditions for the most vulnerable segments of the population.    

As a major player in creditor insurance, BNP Paribas Cardif has been actively committed over the past 15 years to making insurance more inclusive by proposing insurance products matched to the needs of people suffering from certain pathologies. The insurer takes into account recent medical advances to offer insurance that is more equitable, thus expanding eligibility to insurance with optimized scope of coverage and rate structures. For creditor insurance, BNP Paribas Cardif facilitates access to mortgage loans and property ownership for vulnerable persons. This approach has, for example, improved insurance eligibility and coverage conditions for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease, gestational diabetes, or psychological conditions related to a traumatic event, as well as asthma, paraplegia and tetraplegia.   

BNP Paribas Cardif is pursuing its mission of making insurance more accessible by making it easier for people suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to take out creditor and personal protection insurance sold in France. 

IBD affects more than 270,000 people in France today¹, spanning two conditions: Crohn’s disease and  ulcerative colitis. Both are characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract due to a weakened immune system. Drawing on the recognized expertise in these pathologies of Professor Matthieu Allez, head of the Gastroenterology Department of Hôpital Saint-Louis (part of the Paris public hospital system, APHP), BNP Paribas Cardif has established a risk scoring model that better takes into account the different forms of inflammatory bowel disease, along with recent advances in treatment. This has enabled the insurer to optimize rates and offer broader supplemental cover, while reducing premium surcharges. A new questionnaire has been introduced for policyholders suffering from IBD to better take into account the specific characteristics of their disease and their lifestyle.

“As an insurer we are committed to continually improving our product and service offering in order to broaden insurance coverage for the most vulnerable populations, as well as to reducing the number of exclusions in our policies. We are pleased to be able to propose better cover for people suffering from IBD by taking into account their individual situation and lifestyle,”

Fabrice Bagne, BNP Paribas Cardif Deputy Chief Executive Officer, France and Luxembourg

_{¹Source: Assurance Maladie (French national health insurance system), 2019}

Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975, leading BNP Paribas Cardif to take concrete action to help mitigate complications and risks linked to overweight and obesity. Since 2021 the insurer has rolled out an international strategy around two essential pillars:

• Funding for research in conjunction with an international group of physicians and nutrition researchers;
• Support for a number of non-profit organizations specialized in overweight and obesity prevention strategies targeting very young children around the world.

In 2020, some 71 million children worldwide between the ages of five and nine – 11% of the children in this age bracket – fell into the category of overweight or obesity¹ . What’s more, according to INSERM, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research² , nearly half of French adults can be considered obese or overweight. The Covid-19 pandemic revealed that people who are overweight or obese are at higher risk of developing a severe form of the disease, strengthening BNP Paribas Cardif’s conviction that it is important to take urgent action. Beyond Covid-19, obesity is an aggravating factor in many other diseases, resulting in over five million premature deaths each year³.

A strategic focus on research and prevention

To improve the detection and prevention of obesity, BNP Paribas Cardif is centering its efforts on support for scientific research. Under the aegis of the University Hospital of Rouen and the Fondation Charles Nicolle Normandie⁴ in France, this partnership is led by Professor Pierre Déchelotte, a physician and internationally recognized nutrition expert.

Support from BNP Paribas Cardif also includes funding for research in Europe and Latin America on detection and prevention of obesity risk factors, notably eating disorders. BNP Paribas Cardif and a scientific committee headed by Professor Déchelotte will coordinate different actions to improve detection and prevention of obesity.

Partnerships with numerous nonprofits around the world to support children and families

In France, BNP Paribas Cardif is providing support for La Tablée des Chefs, which designs culinary education and healthy eating programs for primary and secondary schoolchildren in priority education districts in France, as well as children’s social services centres. During the 2022 school year, some fifty BNP Paribas Cardif employees volunteered to lead workshops in these establishments. Thanks to this outreach initiative more than 9,000 young people learned more about this issue through in-person engagement as well as social networks, and 2,000 children and families benefited from direct support at social services centres.

In Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru), the insurer has developed a partnership with UNICEF , the United Nations Children’s Fund, to fund research, prevention and education programs targeting overweight and obesity in young children. Thanks to support from BNP Paribas Cardif, UNICEF⁵ established in 2022 prevention activities for more than 50,000 children and adolescents, along with their families and communities. This program will continue to expand its reach to a larger number of children throughout 2023.

In Spain and Portugal, BNP Paribas Cardif has teamed with the Gasol Foundation, which works to reduce child obesity by promoting healthy eating habits among children and their families and giving young people opportunities to thrive. In 2022, awareness initiatives reached 50,000 people, including 5,000 children and families who received direct support.

The insurer also partners with several associations elsewhere in Europe, in Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Italy. Through this support BNP Paribas Cardif is developing preventive approaches to obesity, placing priority on concrete, real-world solutions to address the growing prevalence of overweight and obesity.

BNP Paribas Cardif’s program to help prevent overweight and obesity and the engagement of its volunteer staff led to greater awareness for a total of 1.2 million people in 12 countries in 2022. This includes some 500,000 children and families who benefited from personalized counselling and support.

_{¹ Source: World Obesity Atlas 2022
² https://www.inserm.fr/
³ Source: WORLD IN DATA
⁴ A foundation recognized as serving the public interest, the Fondation Charles Nicolle Normandie enables the University Hospital of Rouen and other hospitals in the region to receive donations and subsidies for the purchase of innovative equipment, medical research, as well as public health prevention and training.
⁵ Unicef does not support any company, brand, product or services.}

Korea’s Digital CPI (Credit Protection Insurance) Platform is one of 10 Innovation Ambassadors 2022, selected from 86 initiatives in 21 countries and 24 entities. Discover how Hong Min Yun, Won Hee Ye and their team created a new business model leveraging a rising Fintech.

Could you introduce yourself briefly?

Won Hee YE: Hi, my name is Won Hee Ye and I am a leader of Business Development team at BNP Paribas Cardif Korea. My role is to seek for new business opportunities and develop those opportunities into actual digital infrastructure, partnerships and promote additional new sales. As a relationship manager(RM) to FINDA project, I am working on overall FINDA project management which includes digital CPI platform business and upcoming fintech de-regulation projects (FINDA’s life insurance agency market penetration through exclusivity contract with BNP Paribas Cardif CPI products).

Hong Min YUN: Hello, I’m the online marketing manager at BNP Paribas Cardif Korea. I’m responsible for planning and optimizing online platforms, analyzing customer data, and leading to performance.

Our project team is made by the cooperation of our GA department and marketing department. When our GA establishes a partner alliance and the overall business model, marketing supports and actualizes it.

Our team’s strength is that when we face an issue, we proceed with sufficient prior consultation and make decisions which many members can agree with.

Tell us about your project: what is it about and how it came about?

Its main focus is to create a new B2B2C business model based on digital environment expansion and Fintech companies’ growth.

It is about efforts to create new business models such as searching partners, developing products, making customer journeys, and establishing platforms.

As digital influence and the consumption of online financial products increased, the importance of occupying the online market emerged. In addition, due to the influence of COVID-19, the need for non-face-to-face channels further increased, and as a result, « Korea’s 1st Socially Responsible Digital CPI Platform w/ Digital Loan Aggregators Providers » projects were carried out by preparing platforms, products and digital partners.

In particular, through partnership with loan aggregator, it attempts to secure excellent sales by making more natural contact on the customer journey with CPI, which is highly related to loans.

Through partnership with Korea’s best loan aggregator ‘FINDA’, we provide an environment where customers can approach CPI anytime, anywhere and increase their involvement in CPI.

Reducing the burden of repaying loans in unexpected situations

Through CPI, customers can reduce the burden of repaying loans due to sudden death and illness, and create a healthier financial environment by preventing the increase in bad loans caused by increased household debt across the country.

Identify opportunities for digital-based B2B2C business expansion

Through this project, we secured new business expansion possibilities by securing experience values for business in new environments such as digital and recognizing factors necessary for online product development and preparations for securing performance.

What did you find most striking/surprising during this project?

We experienced how useful the B2B2C business model is in promoting unfamiliar products to customers. In Korea, BNP Paribas Cardif Insurance and CPI are unfamiliar brands. Hundreds of millions of won in budget investment is needed to promote and secure enough performances in this field.

However, through a partnership with loan aggregator fin-tech company, the two actors were naturally recognized by the customers involved in loans, and the performance through our platform (homepage, app, etc.) is also on the rise as the customer’s awareness spreads.

In order to spread these positive factors, infrastructure for product development and platform advancement suitable for online customers is seeded. Users prefer easy-to-understand information, and in particular, the Korean online market has a strong need for automation and fast speed based on excellent IT infrastructure, so developing and providing corresponding platforms and products will be an important factor in the project expansion.

What advice would you give to employees who also want to innovate? 

There has been a lot of effort to achieve the present results in this project. Customer journeys based on the initial business model were subject to regulation under the Korean financial policy. So, BNP Paribas Cardif Korea and partners had to respond agilely for more than half a year, such as modifying business models and improving customer journeys. As a result, we were able to develop our business without any problems, and in addition, gradually increase performance by optimizing contact points, communication messages, and platforms based on customer behavioral data.

In the end, what is important in innovation is patience and perseverance. If your organization is heavily regulated or has limited investment, it is important to carry out the project with long-term will and consistency. If you continue to try and improve even if you fail, it will accumulate as powerful experiences to later solve problems and eventually inspire innovation.