The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has included 13 insurance companies in the list of insurers with the right to conduct transactions with non-resident reinsurers, the regulator’s website says.
According to its data, on March 6, 2023 the list included IC “TAS”, IC “Universalna”; on March 13 – IC “Unica”, IC “Arsenal Insurance”, IC “ARKS”, IC “PZU Ukraine”, IC “TAS”; on March 20 – IC “INGO”; on March 29 – IC “Insurance Guarantees of Ukraine”; on April 4 – IC “Busin”; on April 17 – IC “Guardian”, IC “Ukrainian fire insurance company”, IC “European insurance alliance”.
As reported, on February, 13, the NBU reported that it expanded the possibilities of insurance companies on payment of insurance payments under reinsurance contracts with non-resident reinsurers, and specified the requirements for such operations.
Thus, starting from February 14 insurers, insurance and reinsurance brokers could make payments under respective contracts without restrictions as to the date of conclusion of such contracts under condition of fulfillment of a number of conditions.
In order to simplify the procedure for cross-border reinsurance payments, the National Bank has created a list of insurers and established the procedure for deciding on the inclusion and exclusion of an insurer from the relevant list, as well as the grounds for leaving applications without consideration.
In order to be included to the specified list a respective application should be submitted to the NBU. Inclusion of insurers in the list takes place if the insurer complies with a number of requirements, namely, absence of enforcement actions taken against the insurer for violation of legislation requirements in the sphere of financial monitoring (except written clauses) in realization of special economic and other sanctions, compliance with transparency requirements as to ownership structure, compliance with solvency, capital adequacy and risk ratios within the year prior to application submission and within the period of being in the list of insurers.
In addition, the financial strength (stability) rating of the non-resident reinsurer, with which the reinsurance transaction is performed, should correspond to the level not lower than “A3” (Moody’s Investors Service), “A-” (Standard & Poor’s), “A-” (Fitch Ratings), “A-” (A.M. Best).
In January 2022, member insurance companies of the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTIBU) concluded 590.5 thousand contracts of compulsory civil liability insurance of land vehicle owners (OSAGO), which is 1.04% more than in January 2021.
According to the data published on the MTIBU website, out of the total volume of contracts, 273.3 thousand were concluded in electronic form, which is 5.05% more than in the first month of 2021.
Members of the Bureau increased the collection of insurance payments under OSAGO policies by 16.68% compared to the same period last year – up to UAH 522.7 million, including for electronic contracts – in the amount of UAH 271.2 million, which is 23.16% more, than a year earlier
The total amount of accrued insurance claims under internal insurance contracts for January 2022 increased by 9.72% to UAH 287.2 million. Including UAH 57.4 million was paid using the Europrotocol, which is 19.3% more than a year earlier.
The Bureau also recorded an increase in the number of settled claims for insurance compensation by 4.93% – up to 13.461 thousand, including 5.221 thousand (+14.2%) using the “Europrotocol”.
MTIBU is the only association of insurers that provides compulsory insurance of civil liability of owners of ground vehicles for damage caused to third parties. Bureau members are 49 insurance companies.
TAS Insurance Group (Kyiv) in 2021 concluded 2.518 million insurance contracts, of which 1.223 million were for compulsory types of insurance (up 8%), 1.295 million were voluntary (up 13%).
According to the website of the insurer, TAS signed 2.357 million contracts with insured individuals, which is 10% more than the corresponding figure for 2020. Some 12% more contracts were concluded with clients – legal entities – than a year before last, in total, 160,000 of them were issued.
According to the results of the reporting period, the first place in the company’s portfolio was traditionally occupied by OSAGO, under which 1.050 million policies were issued (up 6%), KASKO – 56,896 (up 17%).
The company reports that in 2021, comprehensive insurance contracts were in consistently high demand among consumers, so 346,496 Povny Avtozakhyst (Full Car Protection) contracts and 15,794 Povny Zhytlozakhyst (Full Housing Protection) contracts were concluded. In turn, 127,356 travel insurance policies were issued during the year.
In total, more than 1.217 million customers entrusted their insurance coverage to TAS Insurance Group last year.
As reported, in 2021, the volume of revenues of TAS reached UAH 2.45 billion. In particular, under OSAGO policies, the insurer collected UAH 857.49 million, while UAH 568.36 million under KASKO agreements, UAH 322.81 million of insurance premiums under Green Card policies.
TAS Insurance Group (Kyiv) in December 2021 paid UAH 102.86 million under insurance contracts, which is 8% more than the amount of compensation paid by the insurer in December of the year before last, according to the company’s website.
Thus, according to the policies of compulsory insurance of car owners’ civil liability, TAS reimbursed the victims UAH 39.13 million, which is 38.04% of the company’s total payments for the month.
The second place in the December portfolio of payments of the insurer with a share of 25.54% is occupied by KASKO with UAH 26.27 million.
Under Green Card policies, the company paid UAH 16.34 million, which is 15.89% of the company’s total payments for the month and is 25.9% higher than the corresponding figure for the reporting period of 2020.
The share of voluntary medical insurance in the insurer’s payout portfolio in December amounted to 15.5%, or UAH 15.94 million.
At the same time, under property insurance contracts, the company reimbursed UAH 2.42 million, which is 4.4 times more than the corresponding figure for December of the year before last.
Under other insurance contracts, TAS paid compensation in the amount of UAH 2.76 million for the 12th month of last year.
Turkey is continuing negotiations with Gazprom on the bulk of contracts for gas supply to the country through the Turk Stream pipeline, Turkish Deputy Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told reporters.
“We are in talks with Gazprom to increase gas supplies to Turkey because there is a free, uncontracted capacity of 9.75 billion cubic meters of gas in Turk Stream. The contracts expire this year, so there will be such spare capacity in Turk Stream in 2022. We’re talking about new contracts, renewal of some contracts, we are negotiating, I cannot say anything more at this stage,” he said.
He admitted that the situation with Russian gas supplies was complicated by the problem of private importer companies: “The real problem with private importers is arbitration – they offered a discount, then won the arbitration, so private importers suffered.”
“‘Gazprom needs to understand the needs of the domestic market, because today the price of gas is quite important, and it is not easy to increase the price of gas for the population, no one wants to pay more,” the Turkish official added.
“I think Gazprom wants to sell more gas to Turkey, Turkey needs gas, so it’s a ‘perfect alliance.’ Turkey is a growing market, gas consumption is growing, I think Gazprom has the capacity to supply gas to both Turkey and Europe, we have the infrastructure, enough gas pipelines, so I don’t see any problem,” Bayraktar said.
Gas consumption in Turkey is expected to rise to a record 60 billion cubic meters in 2021.
In 2015, Gazprom granted a discount of 10.25% to private Turkish importers, but a year later demanded its cancellation. Claims against Akfel Gaz, Bat Hatt, Kibar Enerji, Avrasya Gaz, and Enerco Enerji were filed with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce and arbitration in accordance with UNCITRAL regulations. The arbitration bodies cancelled the discounts for private companies as of January 1, 2017. Failure or difficulty in enforcing the arbitration court ruling in Gazprom’s dispute with Turkish private importers is holding back Russian gas supplies to the country. As a result, some of the former private buyers may not participate in negotiations on new contracts and may be replaced by other importers.
Since the beginning of the 2000s, Turkey has embarked on a liberalization of the natural gas market, under which most of the contracts of state-owned Botas have been reassigned to private importers. However, after a failed coup attempt in 2016, Law N674, “On Measures Under the State of Emergency Regime,” was passed, and external management was imposed on these companies by the state Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), which effectively meant nationalization.
Ukrainian state and private notaries in 2020 certified 217,810 contracts for the sale of land plots, which is 27.8% more than in 2019.
As reported on the website of the Ukrainian Agrarian Association, an increase in the number of contracts provoked the adoption on March 31, 2020 of a law on the conditions for the turnover of agricultural land, although this law will come into force only on July 1, 2021.
According to the association, in the fourth quarter of last year, almost 75,000 sale contracts were certified, while in the third – about 60,000, and in the second – about 45,000.
As the association said, a similar situation is with donation agreements, the total number of which in the past year, according to notaries, increased by 9.6%, to 55,980 and in the fourth quarter the number was close to 20,000.
The association said that in 2019 the number of contracts for the purchase and sale of land plots increased by 12.9%, and in 2018 – by only 1.2%, donation contracts – decreased by 1.1% (in 2018 it increased by 3.1%).
As reported, at the first stage of the law on the turnover of agricultural land – until December 31, 2023 – it will be allowed to sell land plots only to citizens of Ukraine in the amount of no more than 100 hectares per person, as well as exclusion for public needs and exchange of land plots with a difference of the normative monetary evaluation of no more than 10%.
