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Meet Teresa Howard, Company Women Member and Area Manager for ASSSA
Originally from Oxford, Teresa moved to Spain in January 2007 and secured a career with a leading healthcare company. Company Women caught up with Teresa to find out more about her role and her life in Spain.
Company Women – Who are ASSSA and what do they offer?
Teresa - ASSSA is a Spanish healthcare company, established since 1935 and specialising in private Health Insurance, Funeral, Dental and Accident plans. Our services are provided via respected and highly qualified local clinics and specialists. Our service is further enhanced by the provision of local customer service centres along the Costa. We don’t just sell you a policy and forget about you – we support you with an unparalleled after sales team who will even make your hospital & clinic appointments for you, if the Spanish language is a worrying barrier to communication. We care about our clients and believe in honesty, transparency and the provision of full information prior to a sale. Furthermore, we give our clients two very important guarantees:-
The age you join, is the age you stay – no increase in premium due to simply becoming older.
Guaranteed for life – we will not give notice to terminate your contract if you have an expensive claim year with us. (This guarantee is particularly important. If you should develop a chronic illness while with other insurance providers which proves costly to treat, they may give notice to terminate your contract. The illness will then not be covered by your next insurance company because it will be classed as a pre-existing condition on joining them.)
ASSSA also make it very easy for you to transfer your healthcare over to us from another provider. We can waive waiting periods, indisputability period and provide a month of free cover on joining us. For more information, email me at torrevieja@asssa.es or Telephone 965 710 843. Don’t forget, if you are a member of Company Women, you are also entitled to a very generous 15% discount.!!!
Company Women – What's your role?
Teresa My role within ASSSA is primarily to provide Customer Care in and around the Torrevieja area. Part of the role is office based (9.30 – 13.30 Mon to Fri.) answering customer queries, making hospital appointments and obtaining authorisation for clients to undergo complex medical procedures. ASSSA are also committed to improving community awareness with regard to health & funeral planning in Spain, so the remainder of my work involves going out into the community to clubs and other organisations to deliver our Power Point presentations on these subjects. I also source policy introducers from other businesses who feel that their own clients might benefit from the provision of information about our quality products. (Please call me if you are interested in either viewing our presentation or becoming a Policy Introducer.)
Company Women – What did you do before moving to Spain?
Teresa Before moving to Spain, I worked for the pharmaceutical company Bayer Healthcare. The role was similar to my work for ASSSA, in that it involved close contact with hospital consultants and GP clinics in promoting Bayer Healthcare products. My area in the UK covered all of East Anglia – the ´heel´ of Britain – from King’s Lynn on the North Coast to Ipswich on the South Coast.
Company Women – What do you enjoy most about working in Spain?
Teresa Without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable things about working in Spain is our wonderful client base. I have made so many client friends since I have worked for ASSSA. I have to say, it is also a big bonus to find the sun still shining and the sea still warm at the end of a working day.
Company Women – What advice would you give a women who is thinking of re-locating to Spain?
Teresa Investigate every angle fully before making the decision to move to Spain. This way, you are unlikely to come across any nasty surprises and become disillusioned with the dream. Make sure you have not only a long term plan for surviving here but also a means to reverse the process if you find after four or five years that it’s not for you. Healthcare cover is of paramount importance. If you do not qualify for Spanish National Health cover – take out a private insurance. Don’t take chances with your health because without adequate provision, you can soon run up some very large, unexpected bills.
Company Women – How long have you been a member of Company Women and how does the network help you?
Teresa I have been a member of Company Women now for four months. I made it a priority to join when I started working for ASSSA. There are so many benefits that I hardly know where to start! Networking lunches & informal networking evenings, speaker slots to promote your business & member offers to take advantage of, to name but a few. There is also the excellent Company Women website which links through to your own, providing possible worldwide access for your product range. The forum is also great for asking questions and picking the brains of fellow members. Finally, the annual Company Women Awards inspire us all to do the best we can for our clients every day of our working lives.
Company Women – Describe you're prefect day off
Teresa My perfect day off would have to be one of those where my grand daughter visits from the UK and I get her all to myself for the day. (She keeps me fit running after her and gives me the ideal excuse to become a child again!) We go to the beach; swim, build sandcastles and then play ´ bury granddad´. We have tapas lunch at a little beach bar before going home for a short siesta. Later, her mum and I hit the shops for a little bit of girly retail therapy – perfect!
Website – www.asssa.es
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