Newspaper Insurer Press Issue no 5 (11- 25 March 2009) with an accent put on the highlights, hot topics and comments

Dear readers, in the overview of the newspaper «Insurer Press» we put an accent on the highlights and hot topics news and events. We make you acquainted with the analyses and thoughts expressed by the leading insurers and also keep you informed about all that happened within the period between the last two issues of the newspaper.

Newspaper Insurer Press Issue n^o 5

(11- 25 March 2009) with an accent put on the highlights, hot topics and comments

We offer our best wishes to our contributors, friends and well-wishers who celebrate their birthday in this period!

Happy new returns and all the best!

We start our overview with the material of Ileana Stoyanova /page 2/ which reflects the Banks Investments Money International Finance Exhibition – „The insurers Armeec PLC and CKB Life EAD carried off the prizes „Financial product of the year 2008”.

The severth edition of Banks Investments Money International Financial Exhibition was held under the patronage of the Minister of Finance, at the International Fair, in Plovdiv city (4-6 March, 2009). This is a leading event for the financial sector, as far as this is a traditional meeting of the leaders in Bulgarian and international financial sector  - banks, general and pension insurance companies, investments companies, IT companies, companies with special investment purposes, construction companies and realtors, consultants and investors, as well as government and municipalities representatives.

One of the more expected events was the traditional Award ceremony Financial Product of the Year 2008 in different categories – credit products and financing, investments products and saving accounts, cart products, insurance, etc. The completion is aiming to make popularize the most successful and competitive financial products and companies on the base of the results of the previous year.

Two of the awarded products are new on the Bulgarian market. The underwriter Armeec Plc. carried off price in the General Insurance category for the product COMBINED INSURANCE COVERAGE ‘Aid for trips abroad and travelling cancelation’ . The prize was bestowed by the Minister of Finances Plamen Oresharski in person to Tsvetanka Krumova, Executive Director of the company.

The financial crisis must not be a reason for us to lose our inspiration and creativity, shared Mrs Krumova upon the receiving of the prize. This is a really new product on the insurance market and is extremely suitable under the condition of financial crisis. It is protecting us against unexpected changes in our plans, when we are on business trip or travel for pleasure.

In the category Life Insurance  the price was bestowed to the young life insurance company CKB Life EAD for their product ‘Interst +’, which is targeting companies. The real start of the company was in the middle of FY 2008, and we already got a price, shared Maria Bahchevanova – Financial Director of the company, upon the bestowment of honorary diploma

Armeec Plc got one more prize – the special acknowledgement award from the part of the organizers of the exhibition for the long-term partnership in the holding of the forum. The prize ‘Golden BIP’ represents big coin, stamped by the Mint.

The International Financial Conference ‘Financial Sector under the conditions of the global and economic crisis: the solutions for Bulgaria’.

There is one more page, which is dedicated to Armeec Plc. – page 20, where we narrate about the success of this Bulgarian insurance company.

‘Share the Bulgarian insurer’s success’ – this was the slogan of the meeting-presentations, held by Armeets Plc during the period December 2008- January 2009, aiming to promote the products of the  company and to expand the agents network.

On page 3 Nedialko Chandarov, Chair of the Board and CEO, insurance companies DZI AD and DZI – General Insurance AD, is expressing his personal and DZI’s standpoint on one of the more commented problems in the field of insurance these days – the bilateral findings reports in case of light Road Traffic Accidents (RTA). Some other managers of General Insurance companies and Motor Insurance experts, and heads of motor departments, are expressing their opinions in the special column of Insurance Press newspaper – Cover Story.

...In few words, I would like to say that my position fully coincides with the standpoint of Bulgarian Insurers Association. This happened after the thorough discussion of the problem with Evgeni Ignatov, Head of Motor Insurance Directorate, DZI-General Insurance AD, and   predominantly after the conversations and meetings held with Dancho Danchev, Chairman of the Motor Insurance Commission at BIA. We are supporting the proposal that namely BIA must  draw the general rules for all insurers, involved in the Motor Insurance business, with general guidance for all of them and general numbering rules (ref.numbers) of these reports in order to avoid the unpleasant cases of approval or disapproval of their proper quarter. In my opinion, the most important thing is the implicit obedience to the regulations, issued by the Financial Supervision Commission and the Insurance Supervision Directorate respectively. In principle, there is one simple truth – since there is an ordinance, it is mandatory and must be observed by everyone bound thereby”...

On page 4, in the column Theme with continuation we carry the standpoint of Kosta Cholakov, CEO, Insurance Company Interamerican EAD. He answered one of the questions, asked by Ileana Stoyanova – What is the tight place which may provoke problems between the affected motorists and their insurers? Mr Cholakov answered this way:

..’Problems may arise, on the one hand, when talking at cross purposes in the interpretation of the Ordinance by the insurers and the Traffic Police. The motorists are left in between and some cases they wouldn’t know how to react in some specific conflict situations on the road, when the insurers and Traffic Police would have different requirements and reactions to such situations and the motorists would be not able to perform.

On the other hand, there might be some problems in the execution of the rights of recourse from one to another insurance company or directly against the guilty person, when the latest has not purchased Motor Third Party Liability insurance. These results from the fact that the bilateral findings reports do not determine the guilt and therefore each insurance company itself must establish the guilt.

The problem, arising from the determination of the guilt, as well the wrong or incomplete filling of the bilateral findings reports from the part of the MV drivers would result to formal refusals from the insurance companies to pay damages on raised claims. ‘...

And some more in the column Theme to be continued…/page 4/- the summary, made by Yoanna Stephanova – In their standpoints the insurers insisted that the bilateral findings protocol should be obligatory signed by the two drivers as regards the guilt for the RTA. Further the representatives of the insurance companies required the establishment of Unified Information System for RTA, as well as the full implementation of the ‘Bonus-Malus system”. This way the drivers would know that in case they ‘make service’ to another driver, further they would have to pay more expensive insurances.

On page 6 the lawyer Diana Dimitrova presents the bilateral protocols according to the current legislation. /continuation from issue n^o4/

On pages 7 and 8 in the column Seminar, you can find the continuation of the material from  issue n^o3, dedicated to the challenges of the MTPL insurance. On 25 and 26 November 2008, in Plovdiv, was held a seminar with international participation with theme ‘Republic of Bulgaria – member-country of the European Union – the challenges of Motor Third Party Liability (MTPL) Insurance issues’. In this issue we offer you continuation of the report, delivered by Tsvetanka Krumova. Member of the Board and CEO, Joint Stock Insurance Company Armeec - Motor Third Party Liability (MTPL) insurance policy claim settlement. Problem and prospective for the Bulgarian Insurance companies. Mrs Krumova examines the indemnities in case of damages of the insured property, connected with bodily harm and the indemnities for non-material damages. She also dwells upon the time limit for the insurers to deliver their opinion (to decide a claim).  

On the same page you can find the presentation, made by Borislav Mihailov, and dedicated to the activity of the Guarantee Fund – changes, adaptation and readiness to meet the challenges in connection with the challenges of Motor Third Party Liability (MTPL) Insurance issues arising from the EU membership of Bulgaria.

On pages 10 and 11  we publish materials from the conference ‘Crisis Hieroglyph Reads also Opportunity’, under the heading ‘THE OPTIMISM OF THE GOVERNORS DOES NOT COINSIDE WITH THE ASSESSMENTS AND ESTIMATIONS, PROVIDED BY THE SCIENCE AND THE FINANCIAL EXPERTS’.

The reports delivered by Plamen Oresharski, Apostol Apostolov and  Prof. PhD Garabed Minassyan, was followed by  a discussion, joined by  Petrozar Petkov, Chairman of the General Partnership and General Manager of “Bul Ins” AD insurance company. The squeezed crediting and leasing are killing the insurance business. He put an accent on the fact that the governments all over Europe and USA have contributed for decrease of credit interest rates, and this fact has given possibility to the physical persons and legal entities to service their debts. However the trend in Bulgaria is an increase of the interest rates of the commercial banks and this reflects on the economical environment.

‘We aim to preserve the macroeconomical stability and  the sustainment of the financial , and in particular, the banking system’– Minister Oresharski explained.

Talking about different macroeconomic aspects of the global crisis in Bulgaria, Charles Robertson, Head of Research and Chief Economist, Eastern Europe Middle East Africa (EEMEA), ING Group, considered, that:  The recession in Bulgaria would occur in FY 2009 due to the drop of the credit growth’.

 „Currently the Bulgarian economic system is free market economy and people are able to make economic decisions and therefore have to be ready to  accept the consequences therefrom – explained in his presentation Stefan Petranov, Chair of the Financial Certified Consultants Institute in Bulgaria.

On pages 12 and 13, we carry the reportage of Yoanna Stephanova from the holiday seminar of  Eurolife Bulgaria ‘Together on the top, with optimism in the time of crisis’.

The Manager of Eurolife Bulgaria, Bozhidar Vasilev shared: ‘We are preparing a very aggressive marketing policy. There will be serious training of the consultants – in connection with the financial crisis...’

‘Our people have dreams and are very ambitious, which is a precondition for better results.’

 On page 14 you can read the continuation of the material from the Motor Insurance Pricing seminar,   held in November 2008. In this issue the lecturer Georgy Matov , Certified Actuery, is explaining the ‘bonus-malus’ system, the rating classics, the risk premium and the selection of  base-line data.

On pages 15 and 16 we continue the publication of the report of Yoto Yotov, Reader Dr. „General insurance principles”, delivered before the Seventh National Conference with international participation: «Social Security and Insurance in Bulgaria under the conditions of eurointegration: challenges before the yet continuing adaptation»

We are finishing our overview with the column In the world /page 21/ and the publication by Senior Research Associate -second degree Dr. Dimitar Shishkov : WOULD SOFIA JOIN THE BRITISH EXPERIMENT?The British Concept for Medical Assistance provides for transfer of the Family Doctors’ practices in modern clinics.  

Selection: Vania Petrova

Translation: Albena Dimitrova