Our Funk Values & Purpose

"The reason we value Funk as an insurance broker is simple. We have the same goals. As active asset managers, we aim to maintain and continuously improve our properties. One thing is particularly important to us: implementing the exact measures that our tenants need. Our contacts at Funk work in the same way. The insurance solutions are individually tailored to our company, regularly reviewed and optimised if necessary. Regardless of the insurance area, we always receive competent and personal advice from our dedicated customer advisor and the specialist departments. If there's ever a fire, someone will be there quickly and without complication. In short, we can rely on Funk, just as our tenants can rely on Velero."

Thomas Lange, Managing Director, Balandra Asset Management GmbH
balandra.de

"At ORACLE, we strive to be an attractive employer. This includes providing basic provisions via employer- and employee-financed company pension schemes. We have been working in partnership with Funk for many years to achieve this. We particularly appreciate their flexibility and support with special projects, such as M&As."

Steffen Mohr, Director Compensation & Benefits DACH/NORDICS
ORACLE

Stadtwerke Flensburg supplies over 200,000 households and businesses across Germany with electricity, gas and district heating. Its annual turnover exceeds 400 million euros. In 2016, as part of the ‘Kessel-12 project’, the Flensburg energy supplier commissioned a new gas and steam turbine plant, which emits around 40 per cent less CO₂ in an environmentally friendly way. Stadtwerke invested a total of 128 million euros in this large-scale project, which is exceptional for the region. Funk's experts developed the insurance concept for this unique project. The main component was a construction and installation insurance policy that guaranteed comprehensive cover for the investment during the construction phase.

In addition, Funk ensured that the system could be insured from the time of commissioning during the construction phase. Funk supported Stadtwerke Flensburg's project managers with an interdisciplinary team of insurance experts and risk engineers. Following a detailed on-site inspection, the latter provided advice on the structural design, fire protection separation between the existing and new buildings, and expansion of the fire alarm system. 

„For a project of this size, it is extremely important to have a customised insurance concept in order to be prepared for all risks and uncertainties. The Funk Group's holistic, expert advice was a valuable component of our Kessel 12 project.“ emphasises Maik Render, Stadtwerke Flensburg's Managing Director.
 

„Funk convinced us during an excellently prepared plausibility check of our insurance package. We've been a satisfied client ever since - because it's not just the technical side, but also the personal contact. Funk is also a reliable and competent partner for the international expansion of our business - especially to Scandinavia - with the necessary expertise in the country-specific requirements.“

Dirk Lütje, Managing Director
CITTI/CHEFS CULINAR

Risk management involves more than just complying with legal regulations. Schöck Bauteile demonstrates how risk management can contribute to business success. Firstly, the company's Management Board and business areas were consulted in the development of risk areas. Schöck was supported in this by Funk Risk Consulting. The risks identified included economic fluctuations and raw material prices. There are also increasing requirements for energy standards and different construction methods in international markets, as well as a shortage of skilled labour. Based on this, the Schöck team collaborated with Funk Risk Consulting to create a process for identifying and assessing the main risks in a twice-yearly risk management meeting. The Executive and Supervisory Boards then review the results. Those involved in the project evaluate changes in risk areas at regular meetings with Management Board members and division heads, analysing individual risks and their associated measures.

Rainer Schapfeld, Head of Legal and Risk Management at Schöck Bauteile, summarises, „his type of risk management enables the efficient recording, assessment, processing and reporting of risks, providing a complete overview of the company's risk situation alongside other control instruments.“

schoeck.com

"As a housing cooperative, continuity is one of our core values. This applies not only to our members, whom we aim to provide with lifelong housing, but also to our choice of professional partners. Funk has supported us with insurance and risk management since 2013. I particularly appreciate three aspects of our collaboration: Firstly, Funk is a professional service provider that knows our industry and its traditional risks well and provides holistic advice on new challenges, thinking outside the box. Secondly, the experts also look inwards: For example, our internal processes have been significantly optimised by integrating an insurance module with our ERP system. This module is also used for streamlining the processing of claims. If things get complex, our dedicated contact is always available to help. It is this open communication that ensures we always find the best possible solution together, and the results speak for themselves: Neuwoba is not just a number for Funk, but an equal partner." 

René Gansewig, Spokesman of the Management Board
Neuwoba - Neubrandenburger Wohnungsbaugenossenschaft eG

Miniatur Wunderland is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Hamburg. Brothers Frederik and Gerrit Braun have created a miniature world here that attracts 1.3 million visitors every year. Highlights include the world's largest model railway and nine fascinating model layouts of Austria, the fictional town of Knuffingen (including its airport), Central Germany, Hamburg, the USA, Scandinavia, Switzerland and Italy. This unique attraction requires customised insurance cover. As the layout is constantly expanding — with Monaco, France and Great Britain to be added in the next few years — the insurance must be adaptable.

Miniatur Wunderland is covered by the Funk Komfort Policy (FKP), which was designed by Funk. This multi-line insurance policy bundles together various risks from different insurance categories and summarises them in one document. This means less administrative work for customers, among other things. At the same time, the FKP is highly flexible and can be customised to meet the individual needs of customers. The FKP offers Miniatur Wunderland a high level of added value in the form of an unusually long liability period of five years in the event of business interruption due to fire damage. This period was specially negotiated for this customer. During this period, the insurer will cover salaries, running costs and lost profits up to a certain maximum amount.

Frederik Braun, head of Miniatur Wunderland, says: “Our world has been created with meticulous attention to detail. If there were to be major fire damage, we would need to plan for several years of reconstruction. We are very grateful to Funk for negotiating this long liability period with the insurers.” 

This customised service includes comprehensive advice on insurance concepts, regulations, and corresponding inspection procedures. As Miniatur Wunderland has a complex lighting and power system, this is regularly inspected by the insurer and the authorities. Funk's experts provide on-site advice on how Miniatur Wunderland can best adapt to these procedures.

miniatur-wunderland.de

„As the global market leader in valve technology for sterile processes, we believe it is important to tailor our system solutions to our customers' individual needs. We also expect the same from our service providers. Funk fulfilled all of our expectations when introducing global risk management software. The implementation was straightforward and highly professional, and we had a dedicated contact available at all times. Any problems could be solved quickly and flexibly. The software now enables us to collaborate more closely with our subsidiaries and has demonstrably improved our processes.“

Tanja Mangold, Corporate Insurance and Risk Management Officer
GEMÜ Gruppe

A company's economic success largely depends on a robust supply chain. Armacell has therefore introduced a Business Continuity Management (BCM) system at its Münster site in collaboration with Funk. As Armacell processes chemical substances, the company is subject to the Hazardous Incident Ordinance — accordingly, the groundwork for effective BCM has already been laid. Building on this, Funk helped develop detailed business continuity plans. The lifecycle was developed and implemented over a period of around one year.

As part of this lifecycle, factors impacting Armacell's value chain are regularly identified and analysed. Based on these findings, the company implements contingency plans under realistic conditions. This makes the value chain robust against crisis events. Before introducing BCM, however, the company must make an important strategic decision and consider the necessary consequences and precautions. How quickly do you want to be able to resume production after an outage? The shorter the target time for restarting business processes, the more extensive the business continuity measures required.

Against this backdrop, we analyse the business processes and examine the location's typical hazards.
„With Funk, we have a coach who has introduced us to the practical benefits and basic principles of BCM. We have gone through the BCM lifecycle step by step together, and we benefit from Funk's project experience in business continuity management,“ says Salvatore Gargallo, Group EHS Manager at Armacell.

Salvatore Gargallo, Group EHS Manager at Armacell
 

June 2018 got off to a rainy start, which was not ideal for automotive supplier Hörmann Automotive. Persistent heavy rain caused a small stream at the edge of the Saarbrücken site to rise dramatically. The embankment and the flood barriers in front of the building gates were unable to hold back the huge volume of water. Ultimately, several production and storage halls, as well as the administration and social building, were flooded to a depth of 1.5 metres. Once the water had drained away, numerous buildings, machines, equipment and supplies had been damaged or contaminated, meaning the production site could not be operated for an extended period of time. To minimise the period of interruption, Funk supported its client throughout: A team of experts was assembled quickly, comprising specialists from three expert offices, a remediation company, an insurer and a chemist. According to the chemist's specifications, the first clean-up began just two days after the flooding. A container village equipped with cleaning baths and materials was set up on site. More than 100 employees were responsible for cleaning the buildings and machines, as well as carrying out the clean-up work. Thanks to Funk's comprehensive advice, Hörmann Automotive was adequately protected against flooding, with the resulting damage of around 6.5 million euros being fully covered. Initially, the expected loss of earnings was feared to be significantly higher. However, thanks to the rapid response and immediate measures, the loss of earnings, including the provisional measures, was limited to €1.5 million. The remaining 5 million euros of the total damage is attributable to property damage. 
„Thanks to Funk's immediate and professional support and coordination, we were able to avoid production downtime for our customers. Otherwise, they would inevitably have had to postpone orders, which would have posed an existential threat to our company and its 150 employees,“, says Uwe Jung, Managing Director of Hörmann Automotive in Saarbrücken.

Hörmann Automotive
 

"As a municipal housing company and landlord, we have a special social responsibility when it comes to maintaining and preserving our housing stock. Funk provides us with the best possible support in fulfilling this mandate. The international insurance broker and risk consultant looks after the entire insurance programme for our buildings. This gives us access to an extremely efficient digital claims management system. This service from our insurance partner is indispensable when it comes to offering our tenants the high level of service they have come to expect. Thanks to regular tenders for brokerage services, we can also be sure that we are paying market rates. Furthermore, Funk's support for the respective insurance contracts is consistently professional. Working with Funk is fast, efficient and uncomplicated."

Jörg Franzen, Chairman of the Management Board
GESOBAU AG

„What is the difference between good service and excellent service?’ Good partners provide good service, but excellent partners shine in difficult situations, providing outstanding support and problem-solving expertise. Funk presented itself as an excellent partner when designing our international insurance programmes, despite the fact that Helios, as a chemical producer focusing on Eastern and Central Europe, is not necessarily a valued client in the insurance industry. In addition to our special risk profile, Funk managed the complex policies in many non-EU countries extremely well and provided active support in claims handling. We also appreciate the extremely fast and flexible communication, as well as the high level of expertise of the entire Funk team.“

David Kubala, Managing Director, Kansai Helios Coatings GmbH
 

Product liability is a key issue in the automotive industry. This is why employee training, which increases risk awareness and promotes the correct behaviour in this area, forms an integral part of this industry's risk management strategy. This also applies to the cable specialist and wireless customer LEONI. However, with increasing international growth, it has become increasingly difficult for LEONI to implement this training consistently. The group of companies has therefore developed an e-learning tool in collaboration with Funk. This enables employees throughout the company to learn about product liability. It is flexible, efficient, and independent of time and location. Funk now also offers the e-learning platform 'e-learning@Funk' to other companies, enabling SMEs to benefit from mobile learning at a low cost. 

LEONI Group
 

„This has been true for us for over 20 years now. Thanks to Funk, we are in a strong position in the insurance sector, both nationally and internationally. As a company with a global presence, we particularly value the exceptional performance of the Funk Alliance network. We know that our insurance management is in good hands.“

Dr Björn Carsten Frenzel, Head of the Group Legal Department and Corporate Governance at Aurubis AG

Ensuring the safe processing of chemical substances is a top priority for Schill + Seilacher. Nevertheless, a reactor exploded at the Pirna site in Saxony in December 2014. It later became clear that human error was the cause. The tragic consequences of the accident included one fatality, several serious injuries, and extensive property damage, including in the neighbourhood of the plant.
Such a serious incident, which affected several insurance policies, requires prompt and sensible action from everyone involved. The day after the accident, Funk assembled a team of experts who took immediate action to secure the factory premises and the undamaged equipment. Two Funk experts supervised the damage assessment process from start to finish. Initial estimates put the total damage at 100 million euros. However, it quickly became clear that the business interruption damage would exceed the material damage significantly. Not only was the technical reconstruction estimated to take at least 18 months, but the authorities also shut down the entire Pirna site in the meantime, including the plants that had been spared from the accident. As Pirna served as an "extended workbench" for the group's other sites, they were also affected by the interruption. To continue meeting customer demand despite the damage, contract manufacturers were sought and commissioned at short notice. It took one and a half years and dozens of expert opinions before part of the plant was allowed to reopen, and three years later, all Schill + Seilacher plants in Pirna unaffected by the accident were permitted to resume production.
Helge Jetschiny, Head of Finance and Controlling at Schill + Seilacher, comments: “The shutdown imposed by the authorities would have meant us having to close the site completely. Around 120 jobs in Pirna were under imminent threat of loss. The excellent advice and proactive damage limitation provided by Funk has meant that we can now be certain that operations will continue here.” 

schillseilacher.de