PAID begins issuing mandatory household insurance policies After several postponements of the deadline for implementation of
mandatory household insurance, members of the Pool of Insurance Against
Natural Disasters (PAID) will underwrite today, July 15, 2010, the
first policies. On this occasion, PAID held today a press conference at
Hotel INTERCONTINENTAL. more... (15.07.2010)
84% of Romanians will buy a household insurance policy Romanians perceive the importance of household insurance, but low
living standards keep them from saving too many financial resources for
these financial products. Here's one conclusion of a recent survey of
IRES - Romanian Institute for Assessment and Strategy, after floodings
from the last period. more... (14.07.2010)
VAT increase will affect all companies in terms of profitability "Supposing the insurance rates remain unchanged, the costs of claims
files, which will be the first ones affected in the context of the VAT
hike, will have a negative impact on the claims rate", insurers say.
"For sure, the VAT increase will negatively influence all insurance
companies in the Romanian market in terms of profitability", said James
GRINDLEY, Deputy General Manager, CERTASIG. more... (13.07.2010)
VIDEO: Exclusive: KOLLER, CEA: the insurance industry has been a stabilizer in a very uncertain environment The insurance industry has been, to a certain extent, a stabilizer in a
very uncertain environment. This does however not necessarily help the
industry, in the sense that we are not completely insulated from any
legislative activity. There is of course a lot of legislative activity,
not just at European level, but also at international level, and in
that respect we will also feel the crisis, beyond the economic impact",
Michaela KOLLER, Director General CEA (The European Insurers and
Reinsurers Federation), has said in an exclusive interview for PRIMM
Insurance & Pensions Magazine. more... (09.07.2010)
Plus 10% to the business of ALICO Romania in the first four months ALICO Asigurari Romania, until December 2009 known as AIG Life,
recorded in January-April an increase of 26% of gross written premiums
from accident and illness insurance, respectively one of 25% of those
underwritten from health insurance, the insurer said. These results
came in the context of the concern of ALICO Romania to meet the
segments of clients with specific needs and regarding the way of
developing the products launched individually or in partnerships. more... (09.07.2010)
Without insurance, you're at the mercy of the authorities! "The evolution of the insurance industry in Moldova was slow, since the
profile market did not develop at the same rate on all insurance
classes. Thus, motor policies, either the voluntary Motor Hull ones, or
the mandatory MTPL or Green Card ones, were more requested by
customers, to the detriment of the property segment or of the general
liability segment", said Eugeniu SLOPAC, General Manager, ASITO. more... (15.07.2010)
Vitalie BODEA, MOLDASIG: In 2009, the decrease of the insurance market was at least 30% "If in the period 2007-2008, the insurance market of Moldova has
developed, registering steady growths of over 25%, the situation
changed in 2009, when the volume of underwritings decreased by 3-4%.
Personally, I think that the decline was bigger if we consider the
devaluation of the MDL in relation to the European currency, in this
case the reduction being situated at around 15%. Also, if we take into
consideration the two parameters, the decrease of the national
currency, on one hand, and increases in previous years, on the other
hand, practically the decrease of the market was higher, at least 30
percentage points", said Vitalie BODEA, General Manager, MOLDASIG. more... (14.07.2010)
How will the insurance market look like in five years? The Moldavian insurance market has seen, in the years preceding the
economic crisis, substantial double-digit growths. 2009 came with a
decrease in the business of local insurers, influenced, as in Romania,
by the major decline recorded by insurance related fields, such as
leasing and lending, investments. more... (14.07.2010)
Moldavian insurers may issue MTPL policies in electronic system starting January 1, 2011 Moldavian insurance companies may issue policies in electronic system
starting next year, once with the completion of the information system
and of the common database.
"Starting October this year, we will implement a pilot program to test
the information system of electronic issuance of mandatory MTPL
insurance policies", said Vlad STIRBU, Insurance Department Manager,
The National Commission of Financial Market (CNPF) from the Republic of
Moldova. more... (07.07.2010)
Household insurance - a source of growth for the Moldavian insurance market The introduction of mandatory household insurance could boost the
increase of the insurance market, but also of the awareness of people
regarding the benefits and usefulness of such a policy. Currently, only
1% of the approximately 1 million homes in Moldova are insured,
although the risks the households are exposed to are more striking, and
the frequency of the catastrophic risks is increasing in the last years
(especially floods). more... (07.07.2010)
INGO Group's performance in 2009 in accordance with IFRS According to the results of 2009, the consolidated insurance premiums
paid to Russian INGO group amounted to RUR 52.7 billion, compared to
51.5 for the same period of previous year (2.4% growth compared to
2008). more... (15.07.2010)
Bulgaria moves to introduce 2% tax on insurance premiums Bulgaria's parliamentary economic commission approved at first reading
a bill, which provides for the introduction of 2% tax on insurance
premiums. Thirteen MPs voted for and another six against the new tax,
which will come into effect on September 1 and is expected to hike
insurance policies prices by at least 2%. more... (14.07.2010)
The European Commision launches QIS5 test The Commission services have sent CEIOPS the following Call for Advice
along with the final technical specifications for the fifth
quantitative impact study on Solvency II (QIS5). European insurance and
reinsurance undertakings, including captive ones, are being asked to
participate in the QIS5 exercise from August to November 2010. CEIOPS
will publish the report on the results of the QIS5 exercise in April
2011. more... (09.07.2010)
SIGMA: Central and Eastern Europe reverses growth trends A weak economic recovery in Central and Eastern Europe in 2010 will continue to
reduce demand for motor and other lines sensitive to the business
cycle, the latest SIGMA report published by SWISS Re states. The
potential for rate increases will also be limited. Non-life premium
growth is likely to revive slightly in 2011 as the economic recovery
regains some momentum; however, growth will be more muted than in the
past ten years. more... (08.07.2010)
VIENNA Insurance approved new company structure The 19th Annual General Meeting of Vienna Insurance Group decided to
spin off the entire insurance division as a 100 percent subsidiary,
which will be called the "VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP AG Wiener Versicherung
Gruppe ", according to company's press release. As the largest
individual company of the Group and leading insurance company in
Austria, the Wiener Stadtische Versicherung AG VIENNA Insurance Group
will conduct its operational insurance business. All preparations for
the implementation of the resolutions have already been made by the
management, guaranteeing a smooth transition. more... (01.07.2010)
Michaela KOLLER
General Director
CEA - European Insurance and Reinsurance Federation
The crisis wasn't generated by the insurance industry; we were more on the receiving end, when you look at the investment portfolio. But now regulators, policyholders, also supervisors who are acting in the interest of the policyholders and generally Governments feel that we need to scrutinize the different roles of the different players in the crisis, and even if we have more of a siderole, we are still part of the financial services sector, and in that context we are also under scrutiny. Details
