Safety

Just a few seconds is enough to turn a life upside down. Each of the twelve stories shown in successive episodes of the series entitled “The seconds that changed lives” is a moving account of the struggle fought by people trying to get back to normal life after accidents. As the largest insurer in Poland, PZU feels responsible for the lives and health of millions of Poles. The series is to promote safe and responsible behavior on the road. In each episode, the viewers watch the stories of characters whose lives have changed radically, but because of their personality and determination they still inspire others to take action. The third season of the series was broadcast in 2019. 

“Are you driving? Put the phone down” campaign

According to the estimates, one in every four accidents on Polish roads may be caused by the use of a mobile phone¹. Both drivers as well as pedestrians on a crosswalk increasingly focus on a phone screen instead of paying attention to their surroundings. PZU launched a multi-channel social campaign entitled “Driving? Put down the phone”, which was aimed at making the people in traffic aware of the dangers resulting from distraction coming from using a mobile phone.

The company Kantar has been asked to carry out a quantitative survey on a representative group of Polish drivers. The results are unsettling. As many as 35% of drivers claim they have a divisive mind and can safely use their mobile phone while driving. PZU has decided to conduct an experiment on a track.

The comparison of data from several series has produced frightening results. As many of 75% of all accidents during the experiment happened when holding a phone! Drivers made 17% more errors when talking on the phone than when they were not distracted. Even more alarming results were achieved during the rides when the drivers were supposed to respond to text messages. During the latter rides, drivers made as many as 47% errors more than during the similar rides without any distractions. The experiment clearly showed that using a phone while driving is really dangerous. 

¹ Motor Transport Institute, 2019

Survey of the image of the PZU brand and competitive brands in the area of “Provides education on safety” and study of efficiency of PZU’s sponsorship activities.

The main goal of the study was to determine how the PZU’s sponsorship actions and activities translate to the assessment of PZU’s image and consideration of the brand/increase in purchasing intentions.

Areas considered in the study:

• recognition of sponsorship and prevention activities conducted by PZU;
• assessment of the PZU brand image;
• identification of events that PZU should support in its sponsorship activity;
• assessment of the extent, to which prevention activity conducted by PZU have real impact on the improvement of safety. The survey was carried out from 29 October to 8 November 2018.

Key conclusions:

• nearly 30% of Poles are aware of PZU’s social involvement and nearly half of them believe that PZU’s engagement in social campaigns is sufficient;
• the awareness of PZU’s social involvement translates to a greater willingness to consider the brand, in both life and non-life insurance;
• The PZU’s sponsorship activity builds a positive image of the brand as responsible and socially engaged. A significant majority of clients do not feel that PZU is mismanaging its money and spends it inefficiently;
• 57% had come across a social campaign by PZU. The campaigns with highest recognition rates included “Safe holidays”, “Be safe”, “ Are you driving? Put the phone down” and activities in support of emergency services;
• PZU should engage in the purchase of medical equipment for people who suffered in accidents, promote safety on the road and support emergency services.

The PZU Foundation has been running a proprietary project called the Academy of Safety targeting primary school pupils since 2017.

PZU Foundation’s Academy of Safety:

• safety on the road,
• first aid,
• threats related to stimulants, including, among others, designer drugs,
• proper conduct in the face of a threat,
• safety in the web,
• defense against a violation of their own rights.

The Academy of Safety is a day-long event including fun and multimedia workshops run in selected schools across Poland. The police and medical services provide assistance in running the project.

In 2019, the PZU Foundation’s Academy of Safety visited 30 schools in Poland and the activities were attended by 19 thousand children. 90.6 thousand safety-related gadgets were handed out. 

“Safe holidays with PZU”

PZU conducts this prevention campaign whose aim is to disseminate knowledge among children and adults about how to protect themselves against the most frequent accidents that occur during summer recreation.

The goal of this project is to prevent and reduce the effects of accidents by disseminating knowledge among children and adults on how to protect oneself against the most frequent accidents and their consequences and to reach the largest possible audience with the message that “PZU cares for your safety”. In the campaign, information is conveyed on how to behave close to water, in the mountains, on the road and when life and health are in danger and how to prepare to travel safely and how to safeguard homes. “Safe holidays with PZU” is a 360 degree project. In addition to the Sunny Station town with PZU zones on Baltic beaches and weekly reports on the campaign on Polsat TV, many other forms and channels were used to deliver messages on safety to the potential audience, for example through:

• press materials,
• video on the Internet;
• online articles written by experts;
• involvement of influencers;
• social media (contest and campaign reports);
• internal communication in PZU.

The “Safe holidays with PZU” project and the Polsat’s Sunny Station was conducted in six Baltic towns and in the Mazury lake district. Overall, the Sunny Station was visited by 46.6 thousand people. Tourists were invited to visit PZU zones, where they learned about the principles of safe conduct during holidays and on the road and were encouraged to spend their leisure time actively and take care of their health.

In the Safety Zone, Niestraszki (Fear-Nots) taught children through games how to behave safely close to water, how to use roads safely, how to eat well and how beneficial and interesting sport is.

In the PZU Zdrowie Zone, specialists gave diet and skin health advice. They offered the visitors a chance to test the composition of their bodies and receive individual advice on proper nutrition. Many visitors were able to check any concerning skin changes and find out how to care for them to enjoy good health as long as it is possible.

In the Sports Zone, tourists were encouraged to take up physical activity and sports through fun on trampolines, dancing and stretching. Every beachgoer was also able to use the Relax and Massage Zone. The main stage of the Sunny Zone saw 42 mini-performances featuring Niestraszki on the topic of safety, combined with contests for children.

Every Sunday on 7.30 pm, Polsat TV presented a 22-minute episode of the “Sunny Station” series, in which, among others, PZU experts talked to Polsat viewers and warned them against different threats that frequently affect us. They emphasized how important it was to take note of the individuals who are unsafe close to water, swimming while under the influence of alcohol, and primarily children playing without adult guardians.

The children, who participated in the “Safe holidays with PZU” workshops (about 7 thousand) became more sensitive to dangerous situations.

They also learnt about healthy eating and the nutritional pyramid, which translated directly into greater awareness of problems with unhealthy eating.

1925 people were examined and 3547 medical services were provided in the form of examination and medical advice. 55 people were referred for further diagnosis and a more precise testing and possibly removal of concerning moles, and 237 people were diagnosed as obese. They received professional knowledge about the first steps to fight obesity. 300 people took advantage of a relaxing massage.

Rehabilitation stays for children with post-accident trauma

Since 2013 PZU has been running a comprehensive psychological support system for parties injured as a result of accidents whose perpetrator was a holder of a TPL policy with PZU. To mitigate the consequences of accidents the company underwrites the costs of stays for children with post-accident trauma and their guardians at rehabilitation stays during the winter break and summer vacation. This is a form of residential psychological therapy conducted in the therapeutic centers of the Teddy Bears Rescue Children’s Lives Association in Dźwierzyna and the Siemacha Association in Odparyszów. Annually, PZU lends a helping hand to roughly 120 persons.

This practice will continue and the level of aid granted should be maintained in 2020 and in subsequent years. We also plan to expand the program to include psychooncological support for children who lost relatives to oncological diseases.

PZU has been supporting the Voluntary Mountain Rescue Service (GOPR) since 2005. This contributes to enhancing the level of safety in the Polish mountains. Various activities have been run over the last 14 years. Among others, equipment was purchased to administer rescue campaigns (e.g. 12 quads in 2018 and at the outset of 2019), training courses were financed for rescuers, educational efforts were taken jointly with GOPR (e.g. Safe Winter with GOPR) and an e-learning platform on safety was implemented. In 2019, funds from PZU were used to purchase equipment for GOPR rescuers: 204 sets of technical clothing. PZU also supported the modernization of the central station of the GOPR Jurajska Group in Podlesice.

• 214,514 hours worked by volunteer rescuers
• longest rescue operations:
• 23 hours of continuous work - a search operation in the area of Babia Góra (GOPR Beskidzka Group) 
• 21 hours of continuous work - a search operation (GOPR Krynicka Group)
• 16 hours of continuous work - an accident in the Jaskinia Wszystkich Świętych cave (GOPR Jurajska Group)
• 81 female volunteer rescuers (including candidates) work at GOPR
• GOPR operates in an area covering over 20,000 km², protecting 7,200 km of hiking trails in mountain ranges from the Karkonosze Mountains to the Bieszczady Mountains
• GOPR receive approx. 400 requests for rescue annually through the Ratunek [Rescue] app 

Social involvement of foreign companies

LITHUANIA:

• “me first Aid” initiative was organized in 2018 for the first time. This program is addressed to the general audience, because its main objective is to build awareness of first aid;
• Blood donation initiative – many employees of the Lithuanian company Lietuvos Draudimas regularly donate blood on their own, so it was decided to make it easier for them and their colleagues. They can donate blood at work without having to plan a trip to a blood donation center. 152 employees donated blood in 2019.

UKRAINE:

• PZU Ukraine Life provides financial support to socially important projects, such as the Polish-Ukrainian Child Protection Day or the “Under the High Castle” Polish Cinema Days Festival. It also co-hosts a national road safety contest.

ESTONIA:

• In the fall of 2019, the Estonian branch of Lietuvos Draudimas organized a campaign promoting the wearing of helmets when riding e.g. scooters. The users of e-scooters often prefer not to wear helmets, even though the speed is comparable to the speed of bicycles and scooters are more susceptible to hazards related to uneven surfaces. The #kiiverkaitseb (or “helmet protects”) street campaign was launched in order to increase the awareness of users of popular scooters.

LATVIA:

• Blood donation days – similarly as in Lithuania, the Balta company has organized blood donation days. Three such events, with the total participation of 130 employees, took place in 2019.