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Some forecasts about 2008

Surpassing, according to the estimations, the 2 billion EUR milestone from the underwritings point of view, the Romanian insurance market enters 2008.

The next 12 months do not show the premises of being too quite. This, mainly because, although the constant increase of the insurers business figure, the profitability is still negative in many cases and, as the result, the improper use of some price policies based on losses might cause problems.

2008 will probably bring restructuring at two companies from the top 10: ASIROM that has been recently taken over by VIENNA Insurance Group and BT Asigurari bought by GROUPAMA, but also the selling of the last big insurer, with Romanian capital. In the first months of 2008, we are expecting the announcement of the future owner of ASIBAN. If we are still talking about acquisitions, we should wonder what will be the next step in the expansion process of the Austrians from VIG.

In the same time, after debates that last for more than seven years, 2008 could mark the moment of the approval of the mandatory dwellings insurance. Although the insurers are not satisfied with the content of the normative act, they are using the imminent appearance of the law in order to support the growth of income on property.
This aspect can be observed starting with the MTPL promotional campaigns from the end of 2007, when many insurers offered to their customers discounts or free insurance policies.

We also expect in 2008 the insurers to orientate their business to other insurers classes. According to Angela TONCESCU, President of the Insurance Supervisory Commission, the insurance for legal persons, the ones from MMI's especially, the infrastructure, the agriculture have a significant growth potential for the next years.

In the same time, a significant protection deficit is recorded in what concerns the life insurance. While the end of 2007 was marked by the fight for the IInd Pillar, 2008 will represent the year of the IIIrd Pillar attack. This fact will also bring advantages for the life insurers that sell, in most cases, similar products.

We have mentioned in the above lines, without trying to make an exhaustive list, a series of 2008 challenges. We express the conviction that the insurance market in Romania has the maturity to face successfully and to record in the future, a healthy growth.

by mihaela.circu@mxp.ro

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Interview with Mrs. Angela TONCESCU,
President,
Insurance Supervisory Commission

by mihaela.circu@mxp.ro

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Mr. Angela TONCESCU,
President,
Insurance Supervisory Commission

Corporate clients - a target for the insurers in 2008?
In 2008 insurance companies should focus their attention on corporate clients, stated Angela TONCESCU, President, Insurance Supervisory Commission (ISC).
Click here to read more!
by mihaela.circu@mxp.ro, 8.01.2008

Capitalization of EUR 500 million
The insurance companies that activate in Romania has increased, in 2007, their capital by more then EUR 90 million.
Click here to read more!
by mihaela.circu@mxp.ro, 11.01.2008

70% of the voluntary private pensions' assets controlled by two operators
According to the last report of 2007, two operators - BCR Asigurari de Viata and ALLIANZ TIRIAC Pensii Private had controlled almost 70% of the voluntary private pension, in net assets terms.
Click here to read more!
by daniela.ghetu@mxp.ro, 12.01.2008

Romania - target for VIG
The Romanian insurance market has an enormous development potential considering all business segments. This is the opinion of Gunter GEYER, President of VIENNA Insurance Group (VIG).
Click here to read more!
by mihaela.circu.@mxp.ro, 11.01.2008

EUROBROKERS is aiming three positions up
The Romanian brokerage company EUROBROKERS Group is aiming, in 2008, to get forward three positions.
Currently, according to Insurance PROFILE Review, EUROBROKERS is the tenths brokerage company considering the intermediated gross written premiums in the first nine months of 2007.
Click here to read more!
by mihaela.circu@mxp.ro, 11.01.2008

ASTRA-UNIQA insures ROMAVIA
ASTRA-UNIQA will insure one again this year the commercial fleet of ROMAVIA, as well as third part liability from the aeronautic activities, according to MEDIAFAX.
Click here to read more!
by costi.boroda@mxp.ro, 10.01.2008

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"Bancassurance in Emerging Markets" - 15th & 16th January 2008, Budapest
This year's beginning brought along the first steps needed to be done for building the future success of a business just as for learning the best practices to improve performance in bancassurance, with the occasion of "Bancassurance in Emerging Markets" Conference, organized by Jacob Fleming, which took place between 15th-16th of January 2008 in Budapest, Hungary.
Developing bancassurance in retail markets with lower insurance penetration is a very promising business opportunity both for banks and insurance companies. However, the experience from the emerging markets where some successful market penetrations have been observed - such as Russia, Turkey, CEE & CIS region - proved that simply bundling and cross selling of various banking and insurance products does not always bring expected results.
This exclusive event, "Bancassurance in Emerging Markets", supported by PRIMM-Insurance&Pensions Magazine as Media Partner gathered executives and industry experts from banking and insurance business environment who have presented and discussed failures and successes faced along the difficult way to follow for delivering bancassurance.
by andreea.ionete@mxp.ro, 15.01.2008

New Ukrainian insurance companies for sale
Ukrainian Financial Group FINANS, which operates financial actives of the Donetsk billionaire Rinat Ahmetov's, has anounced its decizion to sale a 73% stake in the insurance company ASKA, one of the leading insurance players on the local market, according to forinsurer.com.
FINANCE estimated the value of ASKA's auctions at EUR 124 million. If the deal occur, it will be the biggest transaction on the insurance market of Ukraine.
Under the national law of insurance the minoritary shareholders have the right to redeem actions first; however, hardly they can accept the offer of FINANS.
Among the applicants for purchase of this insurer are the important players on the international insurance markets such as British group AVIVA, the world leader of insurance AIG and two more international groups - ??? and ALLIANZ.
Russian companies are also interested in this transaction, especially top companies of the local market as ROSGOSSTRAKH and VSK (the Military-insurance company).
Conversations that the insurer will be sold to foreign investors are conducted some years. In fact, insurance business is not a priority for Rinat AHMETOV. Therefore it's most likely that FINANCE will put on sale also the second insurance company - ASKA-Life, specialized on the life insurance segment.
ASKA ranks among the top twenty Ukrainian insurance companies in terms of assets (EUR 39,4 million) and authorized capital (EUR 22,6 million).
In the first nine months of 2007 insurer wrote EUR 30,6 million in insurance premiums, up by 39% compared to the equivalent period in 2006. Payouts rose 44, 6 to EUR1.3 million.
by oleg.doronceanu@mxp.ro, 15.01.2008

TRIGLAV privatization - to be or not to be?
Slovenian government has rejected two bills that would lead to the privatization of the leading insurer Zavarovalnica TRIGLAV through an initial public offering (IPO).
According to reports, the coalition is still split on the issue, Slovene Press Agency reports.
"Every law is subject to political coordination. In the sale of TRIGLAV, the government has taken a bit more time to harmonize the issue," Andrej SIRCELI, Finance Ministry State Secretary has declared.
At the same tame, coalition People's Party (SLS) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) are having second thoughts, insisting that nearly a third of the insurer that is still considered as "social property" be transferred to the pension purse.
The privatization of the country's leading insurer is a hot topic. It was also the subject of a referendum in November at which voters rejected the government's proposal that the stake be transferred to the para-state fund KAD.
Moreover, TRIGLAV was forced to apply for a listing after the entry into force of a law on successors to authorized investment companies that obliges all the remaining successors of companies that collected privatization vouchers in the early 90s to be listed on the stock market.
TRIGLAV fell into this category because its recent integration of one of its subsidiaries that was just such an investment company and would have to be floated on the stock exchange by 27 January at the latest.
The government now wants to sell the 34% stake on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange to citizens in an IPO akin to that carried out last month for the bank NKBM, which was several times over-subscribed and showed that people are very keen on buying the stock of Slovenian financial firms.
Yet the upper chamber of parliament, the National Council, has stepped in as well. It sent to parliament a bill which envisages that the stake be managed by KAD on behalf of the Pension and Disability Insurance Institute (ZPIZ).
by oleg.doronceanu@mxp.ro, 15.01.2008

VIG completes its entry into the insurance markets of the Baltic region
On 18th December 2007 VIENNA Insurance Group signed a purchase agreement with the FINNISH Suomi Mutual Life Assurance Company for the acquisition of 100 percent of SEESAM Life Insurance, according to cecu.de.
"This deal significantly expands the geographic network of the VIENNA Insurance Group in Central and Eastern Europe", explains Gunter GEYER, CEO of the VIENNA Insurance Group, and adds: "As the leading Austrian CEE insurer we possess a high level of integration know-how and practical experience in these markets. With their robust economic development, the three Baltic states open up strong growth prospects for insurance companies".
SEESAM Life Insurance, with its headquarters in the Estonian capital Tallinn, was founded in 1993. The life insurance company subsequently expanded into the markets of Latvia (1999) and Lithuania (2001).
In 2006, the company achieved a premium volume of EUR 13.6 million in all three Baltic States with a combined population of approximately 7 million, which represents an increase of 26.2 percent in comparison with the previous year. In Latvia and Estonia SEESAM ranks an excellent fourth place in the life insurance market and in Lithuania the ninth place. SEESAM has ten branches in all three countries and provides services for 45,000 clients with a staff of approximately 200 employees. Besides classical life insurance policies, unit-linked policies and term insurance are also offered.
The enormous potential for growth is made clear by the low insurance penetration (share of life insurance premiums in GDP: Estonia 0.8 percent, Lithuania 0.6 percent, Latvia 0.2 percent) as well as the low insurance density (premiums per capita for life insurance: Estonia approx. USD 94, Lithuania approx. USD 48, Lithuania approx. USD 12) in 2006.
The potential is further illustrated by the market growth in the areas of life insurance for these countries (Estonia 22 percent, Latvia 58 percent, and Lithuania 68 percent). In comparison, in 2006 the 15 EU states had an insurance penetration of 6.2 percent and an insurance density of USD 2,198 in this field of insurance.
At the same time VIG also acquired 100 percent of the shares in FINLIFE TUnZ from SUOMI Mutual Life Assurance Company.
"VIENNA Insurance Group G is already amongst the most prominent insurance groups in Poland, where we rank an excellent fifth place in the area of non-life insurance. The purchase of FINLIFE enables us to further strengthen our sales network and to make even better use of the market potential in the life insurance area as well", emphasizes Gunter GEYER.
Headquartered in Warsaw, FINLIFE was founded in 1996. FINLIFE specializes in group insurance and term life insurance, and in 2006 recorded a premium income of approximately EUR 20 million. The company has around 90 employees and 15 branches across the country. FINLIFE also possesses a well-developed independent sales network and has concluded a number of cooperation agreements in the banking sector.
VIG already has a presence in Poland, with a total of seven companies. They include COMPENSA non-life and COMPENSA life, BENEFIA non-life and BENEFIA life, the life insurance company ROYAL Polska as well as the non-life insurers CIGNA and TU PZM. With a population of around 38 million, and thus one of the biggest markets in Central and Eastern Europe, Poland has an insurance penetration of 1.7 percent and an insurance density of approx. USD 151 in the life insurance business.
by andreea.ionete@mxp.ro, 19.12.2007

AXA starts 2008 in Russia
French insurer AXA is poised to buy a large stake in RESO-Garantia, one of Russia's leading insurance companies, sources familiar with the matter said in December, according to Reuters.
Two government sources said that AXA, Europe's No.2 insurer, had notified the Russian authorities of the transaction.
"RESO-Garantia is being bought by French company AXA ... we are talking about a large stake," one source told Reuters. A second source said the stake was larger than a blocking minority, or over 25 percent.
An AXA spokesman in Paris declined comment, while a RESO spokesman denied that a deal had been struck.
Investment banks earlier this year valued RESO at USD2 - USD2.4 billion for a planned initial public offering that was subsequently postponed. The company, founded in 1991, serves 3.6 million retail and corporate clients.
Brothers Sergei and Nikolai SARKISOV together own 85 percent of RESO-Garantia and company president Andrei SAVELYEV owns 5 percent. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development bought a 10 percent stake this year for USD 150 million.
by andreea.ionete@mxp.ro, 8.01.2008

GENERALI Holding Vienna sells its shareholding at GENERALI Garant from Ukraine
Austria-based GENERALI Holding Vienna has sold its 52.4% shareholding in Ukrainian insurance company GENERALI Garant to Italy-based insurer ASSICURAZIONI Generali S.p.A., a core unit of the GENERALI Group, according to RP Newsline.
The Ukrainian insurer was informed about the change of shareholders at the end of December last year.
As RP Newsline reported earlier, GENERALI Group was an indirect owner of GENERALI Garant through GENERALI Holding Vienna in the period from June 2006 until recently.
GENERALI Holding Vienna is a head company of GENERALI Vienna Group that operates in the CEE states and is a part of Italy-based GENERALI Group.
Ukrainian insurance company GENERALI Garant (previously known as GARANT Auto) was set up in 1992. Its authorized capital amounts to about EUR 9.18 million. Its regional network consists of more than 50 branches and representative offices all over Ukraine. As of July 1st, 2007, assets of GENERALI Garant reached EUR 42.36 million (a 58% growth year-on-year), insurance reserves totaled EUR 25 million (a 42.4% increase).
by irina.galasanu@mxp.ro, 17.01.2008

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Assets of the banking system will triple
Assets of the local banking system will triple in the coming two years due to economic growth and convergence with other EU states, according to ERSTE Bank's head of Research Division, Reiner MUNTZ.
"Romania ended 2007 with a volume of banking assets similar to Hungary's in 2001, and if we consider Romania's economic growth potential, and the fact that some 10 million Romanians are not using banking services, a tripling of assets in the Romanian banking system does not seem exaggerated at all," Reiner MUNTZ told Business Standard.
According to MUNTZ, local banking system assets could amount to EUR 180 billion, compared to EUR 63.4 billion in the first nine months of 2007. "This could be the highest growth in the Central and Eastern European area, both in terms of volume and pace of increase," MUNTZ added.
by Business Standard, 17.01.2008

World Bank forecasts 5.9% economic growth for Romania
The World Bank (WB) estimates 5.9% growth for the Romanian economy, below the 6.5% foreseen by local authorities. WB estimates show a slowing in the pace of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared to the 6.1% growth expected by the bank for 2007.
As for 2009, World Bank analysts foresee 5.5% growth of GDP, according to its Global Economic Outlook, also lower than estimates of 6.1% growth by the National Prognosis Commission (CNP).
One of the main problems Romania is likely to face in the coming years is the current account deficit, which WB estimates will reach 15.3% of GDP in 2008, and drop to 14.9% of GDP in 2009.
Globally, the WB outlook shows a slowing of growth in emerging economies to 7.1%, compared to 7.4% last year, and overall 3.3% growth of the global economy.
Emerging markets will absorb global economic shocks and compensate for the U.S. economy slowdown.
by Business Standard, 15.01.2008

ERSTE Bank likely to be listed on BVB next month
Austrian ERSTE Bank, majority shareholder of Romania's largest commercial bank, Romanian Commercial (BCR), could be listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) in mid-February, according to sources within the Austrian bank. This would be the first listing of a foreign company on the Romanian stock market. The operation will be made through passporting, which involves a plan approved by the stock market regulator in the issuer's home country which is accepted in another member state, as the basis of a public offer or admission of securities to a regulated market.
ERSTE Bank's CEO, Manfred WIMMER, said the BVB listing is likely to attract new local investors, including pension funds. "We will provide investors on the Romanian market the opportunity to diversify their portfolio with shares of a foreign company and will allow Romanian ERSTE shareholders to trade their stocks in Bucharest", WIMMER added.
ERSTE is already listed on the stock markets in Vienna and Prague.
The Austrian bank posted some EUR 837.9 million in net profits for the first nine months of 2007, following payment of minority interest, at 27.0% higher year-on-year.
by Business Standard, 14.01.2008

Operational leasing market could reach EUR 400 million in 2008
Romanian operational leasing market could double in 2008 to EUR 200 million with the entry onto the market of new companies and expansion of the portfolios of existing ones. In the case of operational leasing, leasing companies handle post-sale services for the vehicles.
According to specialized companies, operational leasing in 2007 made up 7% of the total leasing, with some 10,000 contracts signed.
"We estimate that the market will double in 2008 due to increasing popularity of this product," Dudy PERRY, General Manager of Israeli company SIXT New Kopel, said.
Taking into account the evolution of the Romanian market, operational leasing should cover at least 20% of total sales in 6 years.
"I think Romania has great growth potential," Perry added. In the United States operational leasing makes up 90% of the market in some states. "We expect operational leasing to cover 12% of the market this year," said Theofilos ROMAIOS, General Manager of AUTOTECHNICA Fleet Services, Hertz International franchise holder.
The Romanian operational leasing market is very dynamic. "Every year more and more companies come to Romania, so we will have a five-year growth period," said Effie VALSAMAKI, General Manager of Greek company DIRENT. "Unfortunately Romanian companies are unfamiliar with these kind of services, unlike European and American multinationals," VALSAMAKI added.
There are 10 leasing companies in Romania, and its total value reached EUR 3.31 billion in 2007.
by Business Standard, 11.01.2008

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THE EDITORIAL STAFF:

General Director: Sergiu COSTACHE Executive Director: Adriana PANCIU
Coordinator: Alexandru D. CIUNCAN

Editor in Chief: Mihaela CIRCU
Editors: Vlad PANCIU, Oleg DORONCEANU, Mirabela POSTOLACHE, Andreea IONETE, Liviu HULUTA, Irina GALASANU, Vlad BOLDIJAR
Scientific Advisor: Daniela GHETU

Accounts Manager: Georgiana OPREA
IT Department: Octavian GRIGOR, Dorin PALADE

Edition Responsible: Mihaela CIRCU
e-mail:  xprimm@primm.ro

PUBLISHED BY: Media XPRIMM

Reproduction or use without permission of editorial or graphic content, in any manner, is prohibited. The Editorial Staff is not responsible for the truthfulness or the accuracy of the presented data. The Editorial Staff has the right to present the data in it's own manner. In what concerns the use, in any manner, of the information contained in this e-mail, Romanian laws apply.

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