The specialists who participated at the Brokers' Conference at FIAR 2017 pointed out that the revision of insurance legislation plays an important role for companies, but its main objective is regaining the consumers' trust.

"We see a lot of technology developments coming up: robots, AI, telematics - all are coming into our [insurance] market as well. We see more and more often a customer centric approach, the customer is placed in the front of this process", Cees WERFF, President, Claims Corporation Network, pointed out during the Motor Insurance Conference at FIAR 2017.

"There is a wide variety of pricing parameters used on the motor insurance market today - in many cases it is doubtful if their validity is statistically proven. For fleets, there is a 'disconnection' between needed and available information", Michael THEILMEIER, Senior Vicepresident, GEN Re, explained during the Motor Insurance Conference at FIAR 2017.

In the context of digitalization and its role in improving the claims assessments processes, Richard NATHSCHLAEGER, Region Manager Austria & Italy, Vice Chairman CEE Advisory Board, AUDATEX, presented, during the Motor Insurance Conference at FIAR 2017, a solution for digital claims self-assessment launched by Audatex.

"I think that stability is essential for insurance and reinsurance companies alike and, in order to be active in the market, we need a transparent and stable legislative framework, otherwise the rules are not clear and it is hard to plan business activities in the market with too many uncertainties", Evgeny POTOKOV, Senior Underwriter SEE, SCOR, explained during the Motor Insurance Conference taking place at FIAR 2017, presenting the company's perspective, as reinsurer, on the MTPL market in Romania.

"I wish all of you good luck in the following months, because the next period will not be easy for the Romanian insurance market", Florin GOLOVATIC, Director, ASF - The Financial Supervisory Authority, declared during the Motor Insurance Conference at FIAR 2017, speaking to the professionals present at the event.

BAAR - the Romanian Motor Insurance Bureau has paid, in total, claims of nearly RON 200 million lei for more than 10.000 claim files of the bankrupt companies ASTRA Asigurari and CARPATICA Asig, stated Madalin ROSU, BAAR's President, at FIAR 2017.

The most recent report published by the European Commission, "The ageing of the EU - implications for pensions", has a bleak conclusion: Europe's population is ageing and, as far as pension costs are concerned, their share in GDP will reach 11.2% in 2060, compared with 11.3% in 2013, Falco VALKENBURG, Chairperson Pensions Committee, Actuarial Association of Europe, OPSG Member EIOPA, declared during the Private Pensions Workshop at FIAR 2017.

Following the favourable results achieved in the financial year 2016, Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) can now also report very positive figures for the 1st quarter of 2017.

"2016 was a difficult year for the Romanian insurance market. It was an year marked by the implementation of Solvency II - that brought strict demands regarding the solvability capital, regulation and quality; an year marked by the ASTRA and CARPATICA bankruptcies, two companies with more than 50% of the MTPL market and over 15% market share; an year with transporters' protests that put pressure on the MTPL pricings - resulting in the capping of the MTPL prices and, since May 2017, a new law which includes reference tariffs for MTPL policies, that, I hope, will not lead to a new form of capping", stated Adrian MARIN, UNSAR President, at FIAR 2017.

The Romanian insurance market stagnated at the EUR 2 billion threshold, but its growth potentials remains an important one, including on the non-motor insurance classes, according to Mihai TECAU, President of the Directorate, OMNIASIG VIG.

"Although the first quantitative impacts of the rate caps introduced last year will be only known later with the release of claims statistics for the current year, based on international experience one can expect an adverse impact of this legislative measure on the technical results for the MTPL line of business as a class, reduced overall profitability of the sector and the erosion of companies' capital base", Eugene GURENKO, Lead Insurance Specialist, World Bank explained during the "Insurance Market Trends" conference at FIAR 2017.

The 20th edition of the International Insurance-Reinsurance Forum was officially opened on Monday night, with the XPRIMM Reinsurance Awards.

PAID Romania's achievements in 2016 included a 10% portfolio growth, as estimated, the transition to SII and the strengthening of its capital, a higher level of reinsurance protection, the inception of the Mass claims plan, as well as the optimization of IT system and processes, Nicoleta RADU-NEACSU, General Manager, PAID Romania - The Insurance Pool against Natural Disasters, explained during the Nat Cat&Reinsurance Conference taking place at FIAR 2017.

When natural catastrophes strike, it is highly important that the claims are settled fast, so that the companies are able to restart their activities as soon as possible. Dott. Ing. Carlo Tozzi SPADONI, Co-Founder, Insurance Engineering Services, talked, during the NatCat&Reinsurance Conference at FIAR 2017, about the importance of fast claims settling, analyzing a case study from Milan.

The global protection gap continues to be significant, according to recent data published by Swiss Re. Andrea FUCHS, Head Market Underwriting CEE, Swiss Re Europe, talked, during the NatCat & Reinsurance Conference at FIAR 2017 about possible solutions for reducing this deficit.

In Romania, the number of insured homes is still reduced, but there are steps taken for the improvement of the situation. James GRINDLEY, CEO, CertAsig, spoke about the situation on the Romanian household insurance market at FIAR 2017.

"Insurance and reinsurance are based on trust: we sell something they cannot taste and they cannot see", Sinisa LOVRINCEVIC, Branch General Manager, TRUST Re, explained during the NatCat & Reinsurance Conference at FIAR 2017.

"Because of Solvency II, many clients are now seeking alternative structures: not only traditional reinsurance, but also tailor made products which they need, and I think that this trend of complexity will also go on in the near future", Evgeny POTOKOV, Senior Underwriter SEE, SCOR, declared at FIAR 2017, speaking about the current risk landscape.

In the last years, the competition on the reinsurance market grew more acute and, given this context, the reinsurance companies must focus more on their competitive strategies, Valandis ELPIDOROU, Managing Director, Alternative Solutions, ARCH Re Europe, Switzerland, pointed out during the NatCat&Reinsurance Conference at FIAR 2017.