XPRIMM News No. 354, 27 April, 2017

		Insurance Newsletter, No. 354, 27 April, 2017 Click here to subscribe! Click here to unsubscribe!

TOP NEWS HUNGARY: VIG to merge ERSTE, UNION and VIENNA Life into one company by Vlad BOLDIJAR, 2017-04-27 Austrian insurer VIENNA Insurance Group (VIG) announced it will merge its three Hungarian subsidiaries - ERSTE Biztosito, UNION Biztosito and VIENNA Life Biztosito - into one company. More FIAR 2017: New names join top speakers who will enrich the 20th edition of the Forum by Daniela GHETU, 2017-04-27 A team of exquisite speakers will enrich FIAR - The International Insurance-Reinsurance Forum 20th edition's content, sharing their views on the most important topics in the insurance field today. More STATISTICS: BULGARIA, FY2016: Insurers' profit more than doubled last year by Vlad BOLDIJAR, 2017-04-27 Bulgarian insurers ended 2016 with a 4.4% y-o-y growth in GWP, to BGN 2.05 billion (EUR 1.05 billion), while the aggregate value of net profit more than doubled, reaching EUR 61.68 million. More STATISTICS: CYPRUS, FY2016: GWP up by 2.6% y-o-y, mostly supported by the non-life lines by Vlad BOLDIJAR, 2017-04-27 Cypriot insurers posted aggregate GWP of EUR 764 million last year, up by 2.6% y-o-y, according to the FY2016 market statistics published by the Insurance Association of Cyprus - IAC. More CROATIA Osiguraje's Q1 net profit up by 71% by Vlad BOLDIJAR, 2017-04-27 ADRIS Group, the holding company owning CROATIA Osiguranje (CO), announced its insurance arm increased its Q1 2017 net profit by 71% y-o-y, to HRK 67.8 million (about EUR 9.1 million). More FRISS and Openclaims won the Dutch Fintech Awards in the InsurTech section by Daniela GHETU, 2017-04-26 Fraud defender FRISS and OPENCLAIMS have been chosen as an insurtech startup of the year 2017 during the annual Dutch Fintech Awards. InsureApp, a startup of Risk Insurance, ranked second. More German insurer ALLIANZ strategically invests in LEMONADE by Daniela GHETU, 2017-04-26 ALLIANZ SE has announced it has recently made a "strategic investment" in Lemonade Insurance Company, a New York-licensed renters and homeowners insurer powered by artificial intelligence and behavioural economics. More Aon/Ponemon: Almost four times more budget is being spent on property related risks vs. cyber risk by Daniela GHETU, 2017-04-26 Nearly 65% of organizations expect their cyber risk exposure to increase in the next two years, a recent report released by PONEMON Institute found. More Fitch takes rating action on Italian insurers on sovereign downgrade by Daniela GHETU, 2017-04-27 On April 26 Fitch Ratings has affirmed Assicurazioni GENERALI Spa's (GENERALI) and core subsidiaries' Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) Ratings at 'A-', following the recent downgrade of Italy's IDR. More Global Benefits Group aims to be become a relevant corporate insurance provider in the CEE and CIS by Daniela GHETU, 2017-04-26 Global Benefits Group (GBG) has entered into a strategic partnership with a new Georgia-based insurance company, aiming to become a player in the corporate insurance sectors of the CEE and CIS regions. More SCOR reported net income of EUR 140 million in Q1 2017 by Vlad BOLDIJAR, 2017-04-27 French reinsurer SCOR reported net income of EUR 140 million in Q1 2017 vs. EUR 170 million a year before, while the value of GWP totaled EUR 3.74 billion, up by 13.9% y-o-y. More Aon 2017 Global Risk Management Survey: businesses confronted with additional risks raised by the unprecedented volatility by Daniela GHETU, 2017-04-27 Unprecedented volatility adds new urgency and complexity to old risks, as economics, demographics, geopolitics and technology advancements are changing the economic landscape, Aon's 2017 Global Risk Management Survey finds. More Seguros el Roble chooses the FRISS solution to fight insurance fraud by Daniela GHETU, 2017-04-26 Seguros el Roble announced that it has selected FRISS, in cooperation with MUNICH Re, to provide a fraud detection platform for claims, aiming to fight fraud in a more structured and effective way. More INSURANCE & TECHNOLOGY Global insurers to spend about USD 185 billion on technology in 2017 Global IT spending by insurance companies will reach USD 184.8 billion by the end of 2017, with digitalization, data analytics, and legacy and ecosystem transformation dominating investments says Celent. More ON THE MOVE Joachim WENNING's mandate as the new Chairman of the Board at MUNICH Re starts today by Adina TUDOR, 2017-04-27 Today Joachim WENNING (52) takes over as the new Chairman of the Board at MUNICH Re, replacing Nikolaus von BOMHARD (60), who has headed the Group for over thirteen years. More ACHMEA appoints Rene SCHOLTEN as CFO of its Slovak unit, UNION by Vlad BOLDIJAR, 2017-04-27 Dutch insurer ACHMEA announced it has appointed Rene SCHOLTEN as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of its Slovakian insurance company UNION, pending regulatory approval. More PRESS CUTTINGS ARMENIA: VTB Bank as insurance companies` agent offers to get insurance certificate with beneficial terms AZERBAIJAN: ADIF pays over AZN 728M in compensation to eleven closed banks' customers AZERBAIJANI Compulsory Insurance Bureau pays compensations Chubb Reports First Quarter P&C Combined Ratio of 87.5% CROATIAN regulator clears acquisition of SG Splitska banka by OTP CZECH REPUBLIC: VZP wants to expand in car insurance MONTENEGRO: IMF to support supervision of banks, insurers POLAND's PKN Q1 net profit seen jumping to USD 476 mln UKRAINE: AXA Insurance has launched a mobile app AXA Drive for car owners UKRAINE: Interpol publishes red notice for ex-heads of Oranta insurer

INTERVIEW Klime POPOSKI PhD, President of the Council of Expert Insurance Supervisory Agency Macedonia In 2016, we have seen a progress on the health insurance line, which is a relatively new insurance product in Macedonia, with modest beginnings in 2013. Last year also brought a boom in unit-linked insurance, also a product only existing in the market since 2015. More STATISTIC UPDATES Bulgaria FY2016 Cyprus FY2016 XPRIMM EVENTS Inclusive Insurance And Microinsurance 17 May 2017, Ljubljana, Slovenia FIAR 2017 - The International Insurance-Reinsurance Forum 21-25 May 2017, Poiana Brasov, Romania IIF 2017 - PROPERTY Insurance Conference 26 June 2017, Munich, Germany IIF 2017 - MOTOR Insurance Conference September 2017 Baku, Azerbaijan IIF 2017 - MOTOR Insurance Conference October 2017 Istanbul, Turkey Baden-Baden XPRIMM Reception 22 October 2017, Baden Baden, Germany IIF 2017 - Insurance in the DIGITAL World 14 November 2017, Vienna, Austria PARTNER EVENTS Market Developments within Direct Lending Conference 11-12 May, 2017, London, UK Digitalisation today and tomorrow - Insurance Europe International Conference 1 June, 2017, Zurich, Switzerland Global Summit for Insurance Innovation 1-2 June 2017, Madrid, Spain "Insurance & Reinsurance Days" Conference 7-8 June 2017, Cracow, Poland XV Russian Insurance Summit 12 July 2017, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation IIS Global Insurance Forum 17-20 July 2017, Park Westminster Bridge Hotel, London Les Rendez-vous de Septembre 2017 September 9-14, 2017, Monte Carlo, Monaco Baden Baden Meetings 2017 22-26 October 2017, Baden Baden, Germany CURRENT XPRIMM REPORTS RUSSIA FY 2016 KAZAKHSTAN FY2015 & 1H2016 TURKEY FY2015 & 1H2016 ROMANIA 1Q2016 & 1H2016 Ins. Report CEE, SEE & CIS – 1H2016 Motor Ins. Report FY2015 & 1H2016 Property Ins. Report FY2015