No. 151, March 11th, 2010
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XPRIMM
News - THE ROMANIAN INSURANCE MARKET NEWSLETTER No. 151, March 11th, 2010 Click here to subscribe! Click here to unsubscribe! |
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This represents the largest program of communication of the insurance industry ever developed in Romania and it was launched to target the final clients area, to inform and to educate the large public, the consumers and the potential consumers of insurance services. This is the context in which www.constatulamiabil.ro - a web-portal dedicated to the amicable report procedure was launched on the 1st of July 2009. They believed in us from the start: ASTRA Asigurari, later joined by CARPATICA Asig, GROUPAMA and SAFETY Broker. Since its launch, the site had over 114,000 visitors. On September 1, 2009, www.asigurarealocuintelor.ro was launched. The site incorporates de-codified information on voluntary household insurance, also pointing out the coordinates of the future mandatory health insurance system. We were supported by UNIQA, ASTRA Asigurari and GENERALI, and then by CREDIT EUROPE Asigurari and SAFETY Broker. The web-portal has been visited untill now by more than 47,000 times. On December 1st, 2009, we launched a new challenge: www.asigurareamasinilor.ro, the first web-site dedicated exclusively to motor insurance. Beyond the purely informational zone, the web-portal is built around an application unique in Romania, which explains to the insured, whether they are damaged parts or guilty for the road accidents, what they have to do in case of claim, how the bonus-malus system works and what are the consequences of their actions. Over 93,000 drivers have visited, since its launch, the site for information regarding motor insurance. Those who supported this project are AVUS Group, SAFETY Broker and ASTRA Asigurari. An important support in promoting the information campaign started by Media XPRIMM also came from TVR Info, RFI - Radio France Internationale, Wall-street.ro, Conso.ro and many others. But this vast information campaign does not stop there. Thus, Media XPRIMM is preparing, for this year, two new web-portals, dedicated to life and health insurance. But all will come in due time... by andreea.ionete@mxp.ro |
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CEE, RUSSIA&CIS | FINANCIAL NEWS | EVENTS |
| INTERVIEW |
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Viorel VASILE: The insurance classes which have suffered the biggest depreciation are mainly those with capital accumulation, unit-linked type, as well as the Motor Hull policies. The insurance market was an industry not affected by the crisis to such a large extent as the auto market or the real estate market. Although there are decreases, they are within reasonable limits. XPRIMM: How do you see the evolution of the insurance market in 2010? (in the context of an extension of the economic crisis) V. V.: In 2009, the insurance market has been affected by the economic crisis. In 2010 we could witness a certain revival of the property insurance, but only if the legislation regarding the mandatory household insurance is completed. Life insurance could also register a progress, provided that credit will resume, especially in terms of mortgage loans. Instead, the motor sector will remain quite affected by the crisis, and on this segment the price of insurance policies will increase. XPRIMM: What is currently the most pressing problem of the insurance brokerage market? (except the economic crisis) V. V.: The most acute problem of insurance brokers, in this time of crisis, where large corporate clients have difficulties, is the attempt to keep them active and to offer them optimal solutions. At the same time, the development of the retail market is and will be, in our opinion, the medium and long term solution. The role of the insurance broker in this economical period is very important because he, besides the ability to sell insurance products, must have good professional training in order to correctly present all the elements of the insurance product to the customer and thus to succeed persuading him of the importance of the necessity of buying an insurance policy, offering complete services: risk analysis, concluding the policy and, in addition, claims consultancy. Thus, customers become more and more aware of the importance of the insurance broker, who saves them time, gets them the best offers on the market and, besides, the clients obtain benefits of technical support that they would not have if they concluded the policy directly with an insurance company. XPRIMM: How was the bonus-malus system perceived by your customers? What is your opinion on this? V. V.: The introduction of the bonus-malus system for mandatory motor third party liability insurance (MTPL), since January 1, 2010, will make the Romanian drivers more responsible, in order not to pay premiums up to 200% higher, in case there are more claims in one year, market specialists believe. Considering it only addresses individual persons, the impact was not significant, more than 60% of our clients being legal persons. The year 2010 will be experimental for everybody, and starting 2011 the clients without claims should feel the advantages of this system, because they will be able to benefit of very good prices and a lot of other advantages. By introducing this system, the education of the driver and the optimization of the balance between price and level of risk posed by a particular customer are aimed. XPRIMM: Which will be, in your opinion, the consequences upon the profile market of coming into force of the law of mandatory household insurance? V. V.: I don’t think that the state could cover the potential expenses (for example, in case of an earthquake). Also, the introduction of mandatory household insurance is beneficial to the market, as a way to also boost the selling of other types of insurance. XPRIMM: How did the corporate segment evolve in 2009? How about the retail one? V. V.: In comparison with 2008, the year 2009 has brought a decrease on the corporate level, this type of insurance policy losing ground in front of the property and civil liability policies on the retail part. There have been major changes in the structure of the portfolio of customers, as the retail segment increased by approximately 48% in 2009 compared to 2008. Thus, corporate customers fell to 52% of the portfolio, from about 78% in 2008. The downward trend is evident in the corporate portfolio, in the context of the crisis. XPRIMM: Do you consider Bucharest to be a saturated market in terms of competition? V. V.: The Bucharest market is not a saturated one, this being due, on the one hand, to the fact that the awareness of the population regarding the need for insurance has increased, and on the other hand to the fact that in the capital there are concentrated the headquarters of the most important companies in Romania, as well as the headquarters of all the top insurance companies. XPRIMM: It is appropriate, at this time, an expansion of the sales force? Do you think the economic situation brings new opportunities of finding people to work in the insurance field? V. V.: The system we promoted seems to be, in this period, an optimal solution for attracting quality people with experience in insurance. The advantage of this system practically leads to unlimited income from the franchisee, as he is directly interested to obtain a long-term development in the area he manages. In conclusion, we believe that, during the crisis, the development costs - rent, salaries etc. - are smaller and it must be taken advantage of that. XPRIMM: What opportunities do you see for your company’s activity in the next period? V. V.: We tried to benefit from this troubled period and to attract new customers across the whole country through direct sales, especially in the retail area. For the implementation of this strategy, we have started a nationwide action of expansion by opening more working points in major cities, and also by developing our own franchise network. XPRIMM: What is the structure of the portfolio now? Did it suffer changes as a consequence of the economic crisis? Is there a very clear growth tendency of retail sales to the detriment of the corporate ones? V. V.: Due to the reduction of the share of the corporate portfolio, in 2009 we faced a decline of about 10% of the mediated premiums correspondent to Motor Hull policies, compared with the same period of 2008. There have been major changes in the structure of the portfolio of customers, as the retail segment increased to approximately 48% in 2009 compared to 2008. Thus, corporate customers fell to 52% of the portfolio, from about 78% in 2008. XPRIMM: How do you assess the company’s results in 2009? How do they present themselves, if we compare them to the 2008 results? V. V.: We can say that, in the current context, there are remarkable results. We have an increase of the GWP, in RON, of about 10% compared with last year. Our sales network has now 4 own offices and 15 franchises, managing to cover the entire area of the country. XPRIMM: What are the main objectives of your company for this year? (Total volume of mediations, personnel structure etc.) V. V.: In 2010 we intend to strengthen this business model developed - the franchise system - and to increase the quality of services offered to customers. We hope to maintain the same level of GWP in 2010, and also to try increasing profitability. Personnel structure will not have essential changes. XPRIMM: Thank you! |
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CEE, RUSSIA&CIS | FINANCIAL NEWS | EVENTS |
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Angela TONCESCU: The insurance market, affected by the crisis "The crisis has also affected the insurance market, mainly at the level of two major distribution channels used by companies: the fall of leasing activity in 2009 and loans granted by banks. These, combined with rising unemployment, have led to the fact that gross written premiums for the year 2009 remained at the level of the previous year, of RON 8.8 billion", said Angela TONCESCU, ISC President, in the opening of the National Motor Insurance Conference. Click here to read more! by oleg.doronceanu@mxp.ro, 04.03.2010 Cristian CONSTANTINESCU: Romania has the most unprofitable non-life segment in South-Eastern Europe "The motor market is in a difficult situation, and the year 2010 will be an extremely difficult one. Romania has the most unprofitable segment of general insurance in South-Eastern Europe, the margin of technical results already entering on a negative trend. Thus, the evolution of the technical result on general insurance in the past four years looks like this: in 2005 it was -30 million EUR, in 2006 it was -275 million EUR, in 2007, -115 million EUR, in 2008, -236 million EUR, and in 2009 we will have a higher figure for sure", said Cristian CONSTANTINESCU, President of UNSAR, at the National Motor Insurance Conference. Click here to read more! by oleg.doronceanu@mxp.ro, 04.03.2010 IMF: The mandatory household insurance premiums should be reviewed The mandatory household insurance premiums, established based on the AOL Law, to EUR 10 or EUR 20, depending on the type of construction, should be revised, according to recommendations made to the Romanian insurance industry by the IMF, in the Financial Stability Assessment Report, published Friday, following the IMF delegates' visits to Romania. Click here to read more! by andreea.ionete@mxp.ro, 01.03.2010 METLIFE buys ALICO AIG Group announced on the 8th of March that it would sell its life and health insurance divisions to METLIFE. The value of the transaction is estimated at USD 15.5 billion. This move, expected by economical analysts, will help AIG to repay a part of the loan made to FED in September 2008. This deal will transform METLIFE, the biggest life insurer in the US, from a regional presence, into one of the major global players, along with giants such as ALLIANZ, AXA and PRUDENTIAL. Click here to read more! by mihaela.circu@mxp.ro, 09.03.2010 Romanian insurers' shareholders will keep bringing more money in 2010 In the context in which Romania has the most unprofitable segment of general insurance in South-Eastern Europe, and the market will also end 2009 at a loss, the shareholders of the Romanian insurers will also operate this year additional infusions of capital to finance their activity. Their value is estimated by specialists at a similar level as the one from 2009. Last year, capital contributions made to handle the losses caused by the financial crisis amounted to nearly EUR 350 million, and market capitalization reached more than EUR 1 billion. Click here to read more! by andreea.ionete@mxp.ro, 10.03.2010 ALLIANZ-TIRIAC profit increases with business in decline The year 2009 has ended for the market leader ALLIANZ-TIRIAC with a 7% drop in business, slightly below RON 1.29 billion. Instead, the insurance business registered a positive evolution of operational profitability, both in terms of non-life operations and of life insurance ones, profit climbing to RON 46 million, from RON 41 million in 2008. Click here to read more! by andreea.ionete@mxp.ro, 26.02.2010 ING will sell its insurance division from Romania at package with the others from Central and Eastern Europe ING Group intends to sell its insurance division, including its subsidiary in Romania, through listing on the Stock Exchange, through initial public offering - IPO. Also, all entities in Central and Eastern Europe will be included in this operation, according to Tom KLIPHUIS, CEO of ING for this region. ING will launch the initial public offering most likely to the end of 2011, although the company is still evaluating several options, according to WALL STREET Journal. Click here to read more! by mihaela.circu@mxp.ro, 08.03.2010 Ionel DIMA: The 5% share of the insured who received malus will grow "The malus estimated so far, up to 5%, will gain ground in the coming years. It is too early and hasty to draw conclusions now, for the bonus-malus system was implemented on January 1, for only 2 months, just like the electronic issuance of the MTPL policies", said Ionel DIMA, Vicepresident of the AVUS Group, moderator of the National Motor Insurance Conference. Click here to read more! by andreea.ionete@mxp.ro, 04.03.2010 Bogdan ANDRIESCU: A combined ratio of 127% is not acceptable for companies "Tarrifs for motor insurance were maintained at relatively low levels, evidence of the competition and of the fact that insurers have aimed another increase of the market share. But now, things are different, as companies are profit-oriented, under the pressure of shareholders", said Bogdan ANDRIESCU, President of UNISCAR, at CNA 2010. Click here to read more! by oleg.doronceanu@mxp.ro, 04.03.2010 Claims for body injuries will have the largest share in the amount of claims "In a few years, the claims for body injuries will have the largest share in the value of claims paid by insurers, thus MTPL insurance premiums must suffer increases", said Liviu STOICESCU, President of Motor Insurers Bureau in Romania, at the National Motor Insurance Conference. Click here to read more! by oleg.doronceanu@mxp.ro, 04.03.2010 Liviu STOICESCU, B.A.A.R.: Motor Hull has been the engine of growth for fraud, not the amicable report "Regarding the percentage of fraud in insurance, in Romania it exceeds 15%, under the circumstances in which the international system is accepted with a rate of 5%, and I refer here not only to fraud identified following the application of the amicable report. Actually, Motor Hull insurance has been the engine of growth of fraud in motor insurance, in the context in which many companies have closed their activity, unemployment rate rose and salaries decreased, many insured choosing to fraud the insurer", said the President of B.A.A.R., Liviu STOICESCU. Click here to read more! by andreea.ionete@mxp.ro, 04.03.2010 ISC acknowledges that 15% of motor claims files are fraud ISC (Insurance Supervisory Commission) officials acknowledged on the 3rd of March, in the hearings of the Economic Policies Committee of the Deputies Chamber, that fraud in motor insurance has reached 15% of the total number of files, according to realitatea.net. Click here to read more! by octavian.constantin@mxp.ro, 03.03.2010 Road Police activity was reduced by 40% in 2009, after the introduction of the amicable report "The entry into force of the amicable report and of the bonus-malus was a good thing from the point of view of the Road Police, because our overall activity was reduced in 2009 by 40% in the road accidents sections, and in January 2010 the reduction was even of 78%", said Marian MOTOC, Deputy Director, IGPR (Romanian Police). Click here to read more! by andreea.ionete@mxp.ro, 04.03.2010 GENERALI Asigurari: Plus 20% in 2009; business above the market average in 2010 GENERALI Asigurari ended 2009 with business of RON 501.5 million, registering an increase of 20% compared to 2008, when the company's underwritings were at the level of RON 417.5 million. Thus, general insurance has evolved by 26%, up to RON 417.2 million (compared to RON 332.1 million in 2008), while life insurance was maintained at approximately the same level as in the previous year, the decrease being of only 1%, to RON 84.4 million. Click here to read more! by andreea.ionete@mxp.ro, 02.03.2010 GRAWE business fell by 14% in 2009, but the company turns into black GRAWE ended 2009 with an income from written premiums in decrease by 14% compared to the previous year, due to weaker interests of people for life insurance, to RON 74.4 million. Also, the company turned into black last year, after a loss of RON 1.31 million in 2008, its level being of RON 7.6 million, despite a difficult year in terms of return on investment, both on the capital market and in the real estate field. Click here to read more! by andreea.ionete@mxp.ro, 26.02.2010 PLATINUM Asigurari wants business of EUR 6 million in 2010 PLATINUM Asigurari-Resigurari, a small sized company on the Romanian profile market (former CLAL Asigurari), has set as objective for 2010 achieving a premiums volume of EUR 5-6 million, compared to EUR 2.7 million in the previous year. The insurer begun this year with a new name and a new shareholding, being taken-over last October, from the Israeli shareholders, by VIENNA International Holding, for EUR 500,000, it having as associates Efraim NAIMER and Camelia TOMA, each with 50% of the share capital. Click here to read more! by oleg.doronceanu@mxp.ro, 11.03.2010 CARDIF Asigurari is awaiting approval to transfer the portfolio The life insurance company CARDIF Asigurari, a member of the financial group BNP Paribas, is in full process of transferring the portfolio to the new life insurance subsidiary established by the French group. Click here to read more! by vlad.boldijar@mxp.ro, 01.03.2010 |
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CEE, RUSSIA&CIS | FINANCIAL NEWS | EVENTS |
| CEE, RUSSIA&CIS |
| EUR 4.2 billion in premiums for ALLIANZ CEE in 2009 ALLIANZ in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) reported total gross written premiums of EUR 3.6 billion in 2009. Comparing to EUR 4.2 billion in 2008 and adjusted for the devaluation of Central and Eastern European currencies, this is a decrease by 2 percent. Operating profit for 2009 decreased by 12%, to EUR 306 million versus EUR 348 million in 2008. Click here to read more! by oleg.doronceanu@mxp.ro, 9.03.2010 Cabinet hikes insurance contributions to perk up sick healthcare The Bulgarian cabinet and the medics' organizations agreed to raise the mandatory health insurance contributions by 2%, so that the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) can settle its dues to protesting doctors, DNEVNIK reported. Click here to read more! by Dvevnik, 11.03.2010 Sixth International Risk Management Conference to be held in Kazakhstan The Sixth International Risk Management Conference will be held this year traditionally on 14-15 April 2010 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. This will be the Sixth Annual Conference on Risk Management organized and sponsored by EURASIA Insurance Company. Click here to read more! by oleg.doronceanu@mxp.ro, 25.02.2010 All-Russia Conference on Reinsurance has come to its 14th edition All-Russian Union of Insurers, with the support of the business center "DELOVOY Format", proudly presents their next conference "Reinsurance Efficiency: Lessons of Crisis", to take place in Moscow, National Hotel, on 25-26 March 2010. The annual All-Russian Reinsurance Conference has traditionally become a major social event which brings together Russian reinsures and their foreign colleagues for the 14th time already. In 2009, the Conference was attended by 450 Russian and foreign reinsurers and guests, members of government bodies, market experts and mass media from 18 countries. Click here to read more! by oleg.doronceanu@mxp.ro, 25.02.2010 Russian Insurance Summit 2010 On May 20-23, 2010, the Russian Association of Insurers holds the VIIIth Annual International Insurance Summit in the city of Vladimir, club VELES. Within the framework of the Summit there will be discussions on the present situation and on problems of the national insurance market in the context of international insurance development. The main theme of the Summit will be "Insurance into the Second Decade of the XXIst Century". Click here to read more! by oleg.doronceanu@mxp.ro, 25.02.2010 Tashkent International Insurance Forum On April 8-9, 2010, SAIPRO holds Annual International Insurance Forum in the city of Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan. Among the invited participants there are: top managers of foreign and national insurance, reinsurance and brokerage companies and other organizations, representatives of ministries, departments, state and public organizations, heads of foreign insurance market regulatory bodies, national and international associations, banks, investment and audit companies. Click here to read more! by oleg.doronceanu@mxp.ro, 25.02.2010 |
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CEE, RUSSIA&CIS | FINANCIAL NEWS | EVENTS |
| FINANCIAL NEWS |
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S&P revises Romania's long term ratings from negative to
stable Japan lends Romania 315 million EUR to build tube network DACIA Duster launches in Romania on March 18 |
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CEE, RUSSIA&CIS | FINANCIAL NEWS | EVENTS |
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