XPRIMM News No. 566, 07 October 2021

Insurance Newsletter No. 566, 07 October 2021

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TOP NEWS - CURRENT REPORTS - STATISTIC UPDATES

TOP EVENTS

International Istanbul Insurance Conference: Climate change & natural disasters under scrutiny
by Daniela GHETU, 2021-10-06
On 5th October 2021, the XIIIth edition of the International Istanbul Insurance Conference took place in a virtual format, under the titles "Climate change & natural disasters - A new risk approach in insurance and reinsurance world", hosting an exquisite team of speakers and a large international audience.

TOP NEWS

Insurance Europe: insurance premiums cannot be categorized as fees when designing the VAT regulations
by Daniela GHETU, 2021-10-06
Any legislative initiative to review the VAT Directive has to take account of the unique features of insurance, its products and business mode, Insurance Europe notes in its position paper on the EC's review of the Directive on value-added tax (VAT) released today.

ALBANIA: in January-August the market expanded by more than 19% y-o-y
by Marina MAGNAVAL, 2021-10-04
From January to August GWP of Albanian insurers expanded by 19.28% y-o-y to ALL 12.7 billion (~EUR 103.3 million*), as official figures showed, SeeNews reports.

Estonia: A record number of traffic accidents occurred in the summer
by Andrei Victor, 2021-10-06
According LKF statistics (the Estonian Traffic Insurance Fund), a record number of traffic accidents occurred this summer (from June to August): about 8,000 claim files with a total loss of EUR 15 million.

LATVIA: Due to the pandemic, the demand for health and property insurance is growing
by Marina MAGNAVAL, 2021-10-04
In the two quarters of this year, the largest type of insurance in Latvia in terms of sales volume was health insurance, which makes up 23% of the total GWP. The number of life insurance contracts has decreased, while property insurance has increased, the local press said.

POLAND: PLN 500 million more for this year's subsidies to agricultural insurance
by Marina MAGNAVAL, 2021-10-04
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced that the amount of subsidies to premiums for insurance of crops and livestock allocated in the state budget for 2021 has been increased, Gazeta Ubezpieczeniowa reports.

EBRD to acquire minority stake in Euroins Insurance Group by investing EUR 30 million through a capital increase
by Daniela GHETU, 2021-10-06
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed an agreement to acquire a minority stake in Euroins Insurance Group (EIG) by investing EUR 30 million through a capital increase, while ?urohold, the insurance group's parent company, is providing a further equity injection of up to EUR 12 million.

Life insurance, a support for Romanians during the COVID-19 pandemic
by Cristian SUCA, 2021-10-07
Almost two years have passed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which time the Romanian insurance industry has constantly adapted to consumers' needs, in some cases even by extending the coverage existing in the original policy wording.

SLOVENIA: net profit of the Prva Group rose 68.9%
by Marina MAGNAVAL, 2021-10-04
Consolidated net profit of the Slovenian insurance holding company Prva Group rose 68.9% y-o-y to EUR 4.2 million in the first six months of 2021, SeeNews reported.

SAVA Re announced the resignation of SB member
by Andrei Victor, 2021-10-04
Slovene re/insurance group SAVA RE announced in a statement the resignation of supervisory board member.

Swiss Re and leading mental health platform, Wysa, create mental wellbeing app designed specifically for insurance
by Daniela GHETU, 2021-10-07
Swiss Re has joined up with leading mental health platform, Wysa, to create an insurance-specific app that will help consumers better track their mental wellbeing and improve links to insurers' existing support networks, which will enable a "win-win" through earlier intervention in the claims journey

Top 100 insurers owned by banking or postal service groups accounted for 8.3% of global direct GWP in 2020
by Daniela GHETU, 2021-10-07
With a combined total of USD 535 billion (up from USD 518 billion in 2020), the top 100 insurers owned by banking or postal service groups accounted for 8.3% of gross direct premiums written and related inflows worldwide across all types of insurance (i.e. life / annuity, health and P&C / non-life) in 2020, according to Insuramore's global rankings.

Allianz completes acquisition of non-life insurer Aviva Italia S.p.A.
by Andrei Victor, 2021-10-04
Allianz S.p.A., the Italian holding company of the Allianz Group, announced that it has successfully closed the transaction to acquire Aviva Italia S.p.A., the Italian property & casualty (P&C) insurance entity of the Aviva Group, from Aviva Italia Holding S.p.A.

Swiss Re estimates Hurricane Ida claims at USD 750 million
by Andrei Victor, 2021-10-07
Reinsurer Swiss Re estimated its preliminary claims burden from Hurricane Ida at approximately USD 750 million. On an industry level, Swiss Re estimated total insured market losses to be in the range of USD 28-30 billion.

BELARUS: The draft law "On insurance activities" to be submitted to the House of Representatives in April 2022
by Marina MAGNAVAL, 2021-10-05
The draft law "On insurance activities" will be submitted to the House of Representatives in April 2022, Lyudmila NIZHEVICH, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Budget and Finance of the Lower House, told BELTA.

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KAZAKHSTAN: compulsory travel insurance reached record premiums in seven months
by Marina MAGNAVAL, 2021-10-05
For the period from January to June 2021, GWP of the compulsory travel insurance, according to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, reached a record volume of KZT 2.2 billion (~EUR 4.36 million*), which is five times more y-o-y and 1.5 times more compared to the same period of 2019, Allinsurance.kz reports.

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RUSSIA: sales of electronic MTPL policies from SBERBANK Insurance have started
by Marina MAGNAVAL, 2021-10-05
On October 1, SBERBANK Insurance launched sales of own e-MTPL policies, ASN reports. The company appeared in the list of MTPL insurers.

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MARKETS&TRENDS

A billion-dollar walk in the park: health benefits of nature explored in Swiss Re report
by Daniela GHETU, 2021-10-07
As the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-15) approaches, Swiss Re Institute addressed in its 'Biodiversity and the Benefits for Human Health' publication just how valuable time spent in nature can be for physical and mental well-being and, in turn, for reducing health related expenses.

STATISTICS

STATISTICS: TURKEY, 1H2021: High inflation and local currency's depreciation affected the otherwise very good performance of the market
by Daniela GHETU, 2021-10-07
The impact of the Turkish Lira devaluation on the insurance market's results was quite significant in 1H. While the market showed a 17.11% y-o-y GWP nominal growth, to TRY 47.1 billion in local currency, the GWP volume denominated in Euro actually decreased y-o-y.

STATISTICS: SLOVENIA, 1H2021: balanced market growth on the main business segments
by Daniela GHETU, 2021-10-07
Slovenian insurers ended 1H2021 with GWP worth EUR 1.4 billion, 2.84% up y-o-y. Paid claims increased by 3.97%, to EUR 810.4 million. As the growth rates recorded by the life and non-life segments were comparable, their contribution to the market growth, in absolute terms, was also similar.

ON THE MOVE

Allianz announced further changes to its Board of Management
by Andrei Victor, 2021-10-04
Following its strategic succession planning discussions, the Supervisory Board of German insurer Allianz SE announced changes/decisions to its Board of Management.

Marko Jazbec reappointed for a new term as Sava Re's Chairman of the Management Board
by Daniela GHETU, 2021-10-07
Sava Re's Supervisory Board reappointed Marko Jazbec, whose five-year term of office expires on 12 May 2022, as the Chairman of the Management Board for a further term. The new five-year term starts on 13 May 2022.

EVENTS

Transparency in Insurance Regulation and Supervisory Law
14 October 2021
For details: aidainsurance.org

WorldPensionSummit 2021
12-14 October 2021
Location: Louwman Museum, The Hague, The Netherlands & Virtual
Organizer: Pension & Investments
For details: pionline.com

4th Customer Experience Management for Insurance Summit 2021
26-29 October 2021
Organizer: Equip Global
Location: Live Online
For details: equip-global.com

Croatian Insurance Days 2021
4 November
Hilton Garden Inn, Zagreb, Croatia
More details: dani-osiguranja.huo.hr

Reuters Events: The Future of Insurance Europe 2021
4-5 November, virtual format
More details: reutersevents.com

Insurance and Human Rights
2 December 2021
For details: aidainsurance.org

AIDA Europe webinar 2021 Series
Media Partner: XPRIMM Publications
For details:
14.10.2021: AIDA Europe Webinar: Transparency in Insurance Regulation and Supervisory Law
2.12.2021: AIDA Europe Webinar: Insurance and Human Rights

FIAR - International Insurance-Reinsurance Forum, 23rd Edition

5-7 December2021

CURRENT XPRIMM REPORTS