Citibank Has Begun to Offer Life Insurance from AEGON & AEGON Pojišťovna Offers Citibank Credit Cards
Citibank a.s. and AEGON Pojišťovna a.s. have teamed up to co-operate in distribution of credit cards and life insurance products to their customers. From February 1, 2006, Citibank began to offer at its branches a new product – Citibank Plan for Life, prepared in conjunction with AEGON Pojišťovna. Meanwhile, AEGON Pojišťovna is offering Citibank credit cards through its distribution network. This agreement is mainly based on close proximity between both companies‘ target client groups and is aimed to facilitate clients‘ easy access a complete range of financial products at a single place.
“Through this step, Citibank has achieved the ability to offer though its distribution network products from all financial areas such as banking, investments and insurance business. AEGON has captured our attention because of its very similar client segment of demanding clients. AEGON offers high quality insurance that can be fully adjusted to meet each client’s specific needs and, the policy can be modified in line with our clients‘ changing requirements. Furthermore, AEGON is very similar to us by its use of the same philosophy of high transparency of products,“ said Bert Pijls, Business Head of Citibank a.s. Retail Banking Division.
“Results of our survey of the Czech market that we carried in the beginning of last year showed that people with higher education and with higher income consider a wider products offering to be one of the key elements based on which they choose their insurance company. High-quality credit cards have so far been absent from the portfolio of products offered by our financial consultants,“ said Boris Čuchran, Chairman and CEO of AEGON Pojišťovna. “What links us with Citibank also is a strong geographic proximity of our international operations,“ Čuchran added.
Citibank Plan for Life, developed from life insurance AEGON Live, offers to clients a combination of effective saving with insurance cover, combined in to exactly reflect the client’s individual and most current needs. Besides its maximum flexibility, high insurance cover and annual tax-related savings, this product also offers a guaranteed appreciation of invested funds. Citibank Plan for Life is designed for persons from 15 to 70 years of age, for the optional length of the insurance period (from 5 to 60 years). In addition to the option to set up the ratio between the insurance of risks and saving, it is at the same time possible, to withdraw the saved up money, to suspend payments of the premium or, to make deposits of disposable funds at any time.
The main insurance coverage of death and survivorship can be enhanced through obtaining a supplementary insurance that covers accidental death, permanent injury, serious disease or relief from payments of the premium upon full disability.
Within the framework of mutual cooperation, AEGON Pojišťovna, through its branch network and sales and distribution channels, offers Citibank credit cards. Citibank credit cards are marked for their longest no-interest period existing in the Czech market (55 days) as well as for the above-the-standard security features. Each card has its holder’s photograph and signature imprinted on its front side. Basic card costs CZK 500 a year. If, however, the client spends at least CZK 36,000 on the card a year, no maintenance fee is charged. The same limit is also valid for a sum total of transactions made on the basic as well as on so-called supplementary cards.
Citibank credit cards, as the only cards available in the Czech Republic, also optionally offer additional truly unique services – the Purchase on Instalment and the Cash on Phone. The Purchase on Instalment product serves namely to finance larger purchases. It can be used for purchases in excess of CZK 10,000. After the purchase is paid by card at the vendor, through a phone call to CitiPhone, arranged for by the cardholder can be spreading of repayments over 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. The Cash on Phone product is not less original. Client can borrow money from his/her card in such a manner that the money will be remitted by Citibank to any bank account of the client’s choice.
