Foyer Assurance

A continuity plan based on a real recovery center

The Foyer Group offers several services to its clients, including insurance (car, home, legal protection, planning, health, etc) and a number of high-end lifestyle services, such as wealth management solutions. In response to different regulations, Foyer wanted to strengthen its resilience and be well-prepared for the introduction of Solvency 2.

Beyond IT continuity considerations, Foyer was looking for a solution that would address the unavailability of its offices in the event of a disaster or an emergency. "The majority of disaster recovery plans are built on a set of procedures aimed at getting information systems up and running again. These are effectively IT recovery plans. The building and the physical working environment are just as essential to the continuation of business activities. We therefore wanted to go further than classic disaster recovery plans, and put into place a complete system that included a real recovery center where we could be up and running in several hours in the event of an emergency," emphasised Paul Fohl, chief risk officer and executive committee member at Foyer.

"The majority of recovery plans are based on a set of procedures aimed at getting information systems up and running again. These are effectively IT recovery plans. We wanted to go further and put into place a complete system that included a real recovery center where we could be up and running in several hours in the event of an emergency."

Foyer turned to Sungard AS to build a backup plan which included:

• Workstations for employees at a recovery center
• Regular configuration updates of these workstations
• Annual test procedures at the recovery center
• Support and advice to ensure the continued development of the infrastructure

Business continuity at a recovery center with an identical configuration

As Luxembourg's biggest insurer, Foyer has more than 800 employees and many different business divisions. Sungard AS offered a solution that included a backup system at its Munsbach center, located less than 30 minutes by car from Foyer’s headquarters in Leudelange. Foyer has access to 240 shared spaces at Sungard AS recovery center, including 30 for its wealth management activities.

"During a major crisis, but also in case of a less serious incident such as a power cut in the building or the area, which could nonetheless interrupt our business for several hours, the backup system that we have in place at Sungard AS guarantees that our desks will be available at the recovery center in just a few hours" added Paul Fohl. "We chose shared positions in order to optimise our budget. In the event of the plan being triggered, these positions will be ready in two hours if they are available, and in four hours if a reconfiguration is needed. Either way, we will be operational again in less than half a day."

In keeping with the requirements of banking and insurance regulations, but also to continually improve the system, Foyer and Sungard AS also put in place an annual trial procedure in order to test the recovery procedure.