Newspaper Insurer Press Issue No 1

Newspaper Insurer Press Issue No 1 (13 - 27 January 2010) 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 hap-pened within the period between the last two issues of the newspaper. We offer our best wishes to our contributors, friends and well-wishers, who celebrate their birthday or name-day. Many happy returns!

Newspaper Insurer Press Issue No 1

(13 - 27 January 2010) 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.

We offer our best wishes to our contributors, friends and well-wishers, who celebrate their birthday or name-day.

Many happy returns!

 

On page 2:

We start with the editorial by Petar Andassarov, Director of the Insurance Press newspaper – Even in the year, marked by the crisis, both the insures and the newspaper can’t be without the other. „The concept of Insurance Press newspaper and  its mission to be a biographer of all  insurance structures and institutions in the country and historiographer of the new, modern Bulgarian insurance, are prerequisite in order for the companies, institutions and the insurance business to have an history. The newspaper came to complete this mission and to serve only its readers – the insurers”, Mr Andassarov emphasized.

 

On the same page, we carry the information that on 5 January 2010 Petar Chobanov, Ph.D. – Chairman of the Financial Supervision Commission, hosted at FSC a meeting with students from the famous American Cornell University, who were visiting the region. The students from The Master of Business Administration (MBA) program got acquainted with the activities of FSC and listened with interest the presentation of Mr. Chobanov on theme “The initiatives in the field of Capital and Social Security market after the financial crisis”. The presentation went into the global reasons for the crisis, as well as the necessity of adequate assessment of the system risk.

 

 In the column Between two issues we read:

• Prof. Neno Pavlov, Ph.D.  – Deputy Chairman, Head of Social Insurance Supervision Division, issued two decisions, approved technical interest rate of 2.8 per cent per annum, which shall be applied by the pension insurance companies who are managing an universal pension fund and/or fund for supplementary voluntary pension fund, for calculation of pension reserves as at 31.12.2009.

 

• Prof. Pavlov issued a decision №1068-ПОД/22.12.2009 for approval of the new forms for  pension insurance companies’ activity statements

 

• As at 31 December 2009, 279 insurers, through the relevant institutions, have notified the Financial Supervision Commission that they wish to carry out insurance activity on the territory of Republic of Bulgaria. Four companies declared voluntary surrender of the license for insurance activity on the territory of the country. Furthermore, 1,151 insurance brokers, via the local supervision bodies, have notified the Financial Supervision Commission of their will to conduct insurance intermediary activities in Bulgaria. 49  withdrew from Bulgaria.

 

In the column Companies News we carry details about the new insurance product   Professional Liability of IT companies and IT experts. The Information technologies are of fundamental importance for the development of the contemporary world. To meet the requirements of the world markets and the fast and ever-changing competitive environment, the insurance company Victoria AD launched a product, which is new and yet unknown on the Bulgarian insurance market - Professional Liability of IT companies and IT experts.

 

The same column informs that on 19 January 2009, Insurance Company Armeets AD was awarded for special contribution for the activity of the Bulgarian Karate Kyokushin Federation.

 

On pages 4,7 and 14 we find the „Theme to be continued…” – MOTOR THIRD PARTY LIABILITY (MTPL) insurance – ON FOCUS AGAIN. The main conclusion is that 19 percent of the motor vehicles travel without mandatory insurance.

Notwithstanding that the average motor third party liability insurance (MTPL) premium was as low as BGN164 in 2009,  approximately 580 thousand cars do not have the mandatory MTPL policy and are not restricted to participate in the traffic, which means that only 81% of the 3 million vehicles, registered in Bulgaria are covered with valif insurance.

A motor insurance conference under the motto “Personating Liability Makes it Viable”, was held on 10 November at Sheraton hotel, Sofia. Here we publish the statement of Stoicho Konstantinov, Traffic Police, with theme „Road Traffic Accidence in Republic  of Bulgaria and the control activities under Road Traffic Act for higher range of the mandatory MTPL insurance of the motorists, and this of Tsvetanka Krumova, Executive Director, Insurance Company Armeets AD, published under the heading  “How serious is the problem with the MTPL in Bulgaria and what is the responsibility of the insurers?”

On page 5 we find the report that Allianz Group: Operating profit increased by 23 percent to 1.9 billion euros.

Net income from continuing operations more than doubled to 1.3 billion euros

The General insurance operating profit for the quarter is 1 billion euros - best quarterly result in 2009.

Quarterly revenues grew by 5.2 percent to 22.0 billion euros, driven by Life/Health insurance and Financial Services

Allianz Group's strong capital position further improved with a solvency ratio of 164 percent at September 30, 2009, including dividend accrual.

 

On page 6 we carry the story „FSC published its Activity Report for the third quarter of 2009”.

The market overview examines mainly five aspects of the condition and development of the non-banking sector.

The first part presents the number of the supervised entities as at 30 September 2009 compared to 30 June 2009, with regard to the licenses and permissions, issued and revoked by FSC over the third quarter of 2009. The accent of the non-banking sector overview is put on the foreign participation in the capital of the FSC supervised entities.

 The third line in the publication traces the dynamics both in number and assets of FSC supervised entities for the last years, on quarters comparative basis, and on separate lines for the non-banking Investment intermediaries, Collective Investment Schemes, Special purpose vehicles (SPV), Insurance companies and Health Insurance companies, as well as the Pension insurance companies.

The 9-months results posted by the companies in the non-life insurance sector amount to BGN1 ,034.1 million in written premiums (with sall decline of 0,28 %  on y.o.y. basis). Figures for the active reinsurance are separately available and published on a quarterly basis. The problems in the life sector continue. The 9-month period brought for companies  decline of 14,48 % to BGN 60.7 million.

 

On pages 8, 11 and 16 we carry the continuation (from issue 23/2009)  of the materials from the Discussion forum on the topic – “Financial Literacy of Consumers, how it influences the market of financial services and what are the possibilities for improvements”, which was held on 4 December 2009, at the VUZF University campus. The author of the publication, Yoanna Stefanova, has selected the witty heading “The emanation of the human greed and the price thereof”.

The main conclusions are:

• Even more consumers in the country will be experiencing difficulties in servicing their credits.
• Financial difficulties also affect the health of individuals and their families adding more pressure to an already stressed health care system.
• The main gaps in the financial literacy of the Bulgarians are connected with the pension and social insurance, spheres and modes of investments, and the influence of the inflation.

 

On page 9 we find the continuation from issue 24 of the curious story by Gergana Ivanova, Manager, Insurance Broker Finsales EOOD, „Exotic insurances: Legs for US$1 Million Each”. This story is about the VIP insurance services.

„When in December 2002 the American company Enron filed bankruptcy, the world insurance market  convulsed in sheer panic, similar to those from 11 September 2001. In the bottom of the multibillion losses were the top managers Enron and its auditor. The rescue policy for the senior managers of the big companies is the directors & officers liability insurance - D&O, which provides financial protection for the directors and officers of the company in the event they are sued in conjunction with the performance of their duties as they relate to the company.

 

On pages 20, 22 and 23 we are talking with Rumen Yanchev, Chair of the Board, Chief Executive of Bulstrad Vienna Insurance Group Plc. The insurance is interesting... I will possibly go out of this business when it ceases to be of interest to me, Mr. Yanchev shared that

“Insurance by itself is very interesting – both as an activity and a challenge. However everything has something called “fatigue of material”, i.e. we feel that we have enough of…

This year we have no cause of complaint from lack of interest in the insurance, and lack of challenges. Even from a private point of view, 2009 is particular and marked by the crisis, unseen for the last twenty years.

Regarding the MTPL insurance price Mr. Yanchev said:

-This is a mandatory insurance in any reasonable state. That means that its availability will depend on the maturity of the market. This insurance has both social and economic function. It works like an ingenious mechanism, which provides enough of guarantees. These guarantees could be real, and the insurance - adequate. This is to say that the most important is to provide stability.