Alexandru APOSTOL, General Manager, MAXYGO Broker de Asigurare
The impact of the economic crisis has materialized in the stagnation, for the first time in many years, of the volume of written insurance premiums. For a market that is at its beginning, stagnation is not the most beneficial thing, but it seems that in 2010 the prospects are not cheerful either.
XPRIMM: How strong was the impact of the economic crisis upon the insurance
market in 2009? How do you see the evolution of the insurance market in 2010,
in the context of an extended economic crisis?
Alexandru APOSTOL: The impact of the economic crisis has materialized in
the stagnation, for the first time in many years, of the volume of written
insurance premiums. For a market that is at its beginning, stagnation is
not the most beneficial thing, but it seems that in 2010 the prospects are
not cheerful either.
XPRIMM: Which are currently the most pressing problems of the insurance
brokerage market, except the economic crisis?
A.A.: The most pressing problems are those related to legislation, therefore
related to the will of the political class on several aspects which may
lead to the development of more private areas and activities related to
them, and I will enumerate some here:
- Health reform;
- Continuation of pensions reform;
- Life insurance deductibility;
- Specialized training for all professional categories in the industry
(insurers, brokers, supervisory committees etc.).
XPRIMM: What is your opinion regarding the electronic issuing of the MTPL
and the bonus-malus system?
A.A.: Same for the healthcare reform, for the deductibility, for professional
training, these are also procedures that should have been implemented earlier.
The benefits are clear and the market has pointed out long ago the necessity
of their implementation, but the way it was done in this case has created
difficulties for companies and for brokers.
XPRIMM: How do you assess your company's results in 2009 and what
are the main objectives for this year? (Total volume of mediations, personnel
structure, etc.).
A.A.: 2009 was a year of adjustment, in which those that were prepared
have successfully coped. The crisis Romania has gone through was a novelty
in many ways and we had to learn as we went along. We hope that in 2010,
with the measures that we took, we can register growths for all indicators
(premiums volume, number of active collaborators etc.).
XPRIMM: What is the structure of the mediations that you make?
A.A.: In terms of mediations, we make no exception from the market trends,
as the motor insurance owns the main share. Depending on their policies,
insurance companies quite often change their insurance terms and rates,
so our role is to constantly seek the most suitable products for our
customer. Thus, we do not exclude any product as long as it brings benefits
to our clients.
XPRIMM: How do the recruitment and retention of staff take place within
the company? Is an expansion of the sales force appropriate, at this time?
Do you think the economic situation brings new opportunities for finding
people to work in insurance?
A.A.: In what concerns us, recruitment is an ongoing process. Well trained
people will always be found, but the labor market is determined directly
by the economic environment. Regarding retention, those who manage to fit
into our set of organizational values become successful partners for a
long time.
XPRIMM: Thank you!
Editor: Mihai CRACEA
| Published on 22.04.2010 |
