For the past 5 years, Christophe Gailland has been at the head of La Mobilière in Verbier, which has become a partner of the APCAV.
Originally from Verbier, Christophe Gailland was born on the Place de l’Ermitage. His parents had a small chalet with a flower shop and their flat upstairs. They then moved to Le Cotterg.
With 10 years’ experience in banking, in Zurich, Geneva and Lausanne, he specialised in solving problems relating to stock market transactions. Returning to the region 20 years ago, he moved into the insurance sector, where he has built up a wealth of expertise over the years.
His office at La Mobilière in Verbier allows Christophe to be more responsive and closer to his clients. As a property owner too, he understands the issues and problems facing those who own property. Interview with Christophe.
What are your main activities at the heart of La Mobilière?
We offer a wide range of insurance products, with the exception of health insurance. In fact, being in Verbier, I do a lot of insurance for assets, buildings, chalets, households and valuables. Life insurance is also often requested.
How do you approach your customers?
Our approach is based on proximity, responsiveness and efficiency. It’s important for us to understand our customers’ expectations, so that we can offer them tailor-made services. With a high-end clientele, it’s important to offer different approaches depending on needs. Some people will want everything covered, others the minimum.
More generally, customers sometimes ask for advice that goes beyond insurance. For example, foreigners living in Switzerland will have questions about administrative matters, which may differ from one country to another, or about social insurance, or even about obligations. If there are areas beyond my remit, I refer them to specialists such as trustees, bankers or tax advisers, so that they can obtain more detailed information.
Your company is local, but with a national dimension.
In fact, Mobiliar insures 30% of buildings and 30% of SMEs in Switzerland. In other words, we are the largest insurer in the domestic market.
Another very important point is that La Mobilière is a cooperative. As a result, we have no pressure from shareholders to make dividends. Our customers are our shareholders. Instead of redistributing our profits to shareholders, we allocate them to customers through premium rebates. In this way, we are closer to our customers.
What values do you want to promote?
Our values are independence, proximity, responsiveness and simplicity. I try to help customers by simplifying their work so that they can better understand the Swiss system and have the tools they need to navigate our country’s organisation.
How do you work in practice?
In principle, I’m available by appointment. My office is at Route de Verbier Station 57 in Verbier. I also work a lot by correspondence, by telephone or e-mail. What’s more, I speak fluent English. Around 60 to 70% of my work is done in English.
How do you see the APCAV?
I’m already a homeowner in the region. I fully understand the concerns of homeowners, especially those who don’t live locally. Living here, it’s easier to keep a close eye on developments in the Swiss property system.
Christophe Gailland,
Route de Verbier-Station 57, 1936 Verbier,
christophe.gailland@mobiliere.ch