Business news from Ukraine

TAS INSURER MAKES 2.5 MLN INSURANCE CONTRACTS IN 2021

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.

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TAS INSURER PAYMENTS INCREASES BY 8% IN DEC

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.

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INSURANCE MANAGEMENT DOES NOT NEED REGULATOR APPROVAL BEFORE TERM EXPIRES – NBU

Since January 2022, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has been coordinating the positions of the chairman of the board (sole executive body), members of the board, chief accountant, chairman and members of the supervisory board of insurance companies from January 2022 in accordance with license terms, the regulator has told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Persons in these positions do not require the appropriate approval before the expiration of their tenure,” the NBU said in a statement.
In addition, the law on insurance from January 1, 2024 introduces separate requirements for the management of the insurer, namely the chairman of the supervisory board, his deputies and members of the supervisory board, the chairman of the board (director general), his deputies and members of the board (directorate), chief accountant. In relation to these persons, as well as the chief risk manager, chief compliance manager, chief internal auditor and responsible actuary of the insurer, qualification requirements for business reputation and professional suitability are established. In respect of the independent director of the insurer, independence requirements are also introduced. Qualification requirements will be determined at the level of the normative legal act of the NBU.
The chief risk manager, chief compliance manager, chief internal auditor, responsible actuary, as well as individual heads of the insurer – the chairman of the board (director general), chief accountant, chairman and members of the supervisory board – will take office after receiving the approval of the National Bank. With regard to other managers, insurers will be able to either obtain approval before they are appointed/elected to a position, or submit documents for approval to the NBU within one month after appointment/election to the position.
In addition, the law on insurance introduces requirements for the collective suitability of the supervisory board and collegiate executive body of the insurer, which will also be effective from January 1, 2024. Collective suitability means that the members of the supervisory board or executive body have the general/cumulative knowledge, skills, professional and managerial experience to the extent necessary to understand all aspects of the insurer’s activities, adequately assess risks, make informed decisions, etc.
The National Bank will establish the requirements and procedure for assessing the collective suitability of the supervisory board and the executive body. The NBU will carry out an appropriate assessment taking into account the size of the insurer, the volumes and types of operations carried out by it, the organizational structure, the risk profile, etc. The regulator also determines the existence of collective suitability when considering the package of documents for obtaining a license. Based on the results of such an assessment, the National Bank will have the right to demand changes in the personal composition of the supervisory board or the executive body.

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ARX RAISES PREMIUMS BY 30% IN UKRAINE

ARX Insurance Company in January-September 2021 collected more than UAH 2.5 billion in insurance premiums, which is 30% more than in the same period a year earlier, according to a press release from the insurer. It is also noted that payments to customers for the reporting period amounted to more than UAH 942 million, which is 29% more than a year ago. The volume of premiums collected for KASKO insurance amounted to more than UAH 1.4 billion, which is more than a third more than in the same period last year (32.7%). The amount of payments exceeded UAH 664 million. The amount of collected premiums on OSAGO stood at UAH 38.8 million (up by 29.7%), on voluntary medical insurance – more than UAH 379 million of premiums (more by 32.5%), more than 140 million insurance claims were paid, property insurance collected UAH 288.5 million (more by 23.5%), payments amounted to more than UAH 27 million. The press release notes that the sum of the collected premiums of the life insurance company ARX Life for the specified reporting period amounted to UAH 192.7 million (more by 23%). The amount of payments was UAH 37.4 million. The profit of both companies for the nine months of 2021 amounted to UAH 200 million. As reported, ARX has been operating in the insurance market for 26 years and has been the leader in KASKO insurance for the 12th year in a row. It ranked first among Ukrainian insurers in terms of net insurance premiums and net insurance payments for 2019. It is part of the international insurance holding Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Canada). AXA Group (France) in February 2019 completed the sale of its subsidiaries in Ukraine: PrJSC AXA Insurance and AXA Insurance Life. On July 1, 2019, AXA Insurance changed its name to ARX Insurance Company. AXA Life Insurance began operating under the ARX Life brand.

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GREEN CARD PREMIUMS IN UKRAINE 37.5% UP IN JAN-AUG

Accrued insurance premiums under Green Card international insurance agreements concluded by the member companies of the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTIBU) in January-August 2021 increased by 37.52% compared to the same period in 2020, to UAH 1.075 billion.

According to the MTIBU website, the number of Green Card agreements concluded during this period increased by 22.04%, to 496,200.

At the same time, the amount of compensations paid on claims decreased by 35.54%, to EUR 7.865 million, the number of claims paid – by 20.26%, to 3,302.

The MTIBU is the only association of insurers that provide compulsory insurance of civil liability of land vehicle owners for damage caused to third parties.

Green Card is a system of insurance coverage for victims of road traffic accidents, regardless of their country of residence and the country of registration of the vehicle. The Green Card program covers the territory of 47 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.

According to the decision adopted by the General Assembly of the Council of the Bureaux of the Green Card international auto insurance system in Luxembourg in May 2004, Ukraine since January 1, 2005 has been a full member of this system.

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SHARE OF INSURANCE IN UKRAINE’S GDP DECREASES BY 32% SINCE 2014

The share of insurance in Ukraine’s GDP is very low and has a downward trend: since 2014 and as of June 30, 2021, it has decreased from 1.69% to 1.14% (by 32.5%), Director General of the Insurance Business Association Viacheslav Cherniakhovsky said at the XXI International Financial Forum in Odesa.
“We have not yet reached the indicators of the first half of 2017 in premiums if we count the market size adjusted for inflation. Achieving the level of penetration of 2% of GDP, laid down in the updated Financial Sector Development Strategy of Ukraine until 2025 year seems unlikely by the end of 2024, especially if there are no changes in the taxation of enterprises when they conclude long-term life insurance contracts for their employees,” he said.
Speaking about the steps that would contribute to the development of the market, Cherniakhovsky noted the inadmissibility of such practices as the accreditation of insurers by banks. “Not a single legislative document contains any accreditations. This is an anachronism and remnants of monopoly. On the contrary, there is a provision of the law on insurance, according to which the consumer has the right to choose an insurer, and it is forbidden to impose the conclusion of an insurance contract within the framework of other legal relations. Banks can only nominate requirements for the structure of the insurance product provided by the insurance company – definitions of insurance amounts, a list of risks, the size of the franchise, the terms of payment and cases of refusal in it,” he said.
Cherniakhovsky said that the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), as a general regulator for the banking and insurance market, should stop this practice. “This is necessary for all consumers who receive loans now, next month, and not sometime in the future. The practice is unacceptable when banks oblige insurance companies to double prices for owners of collateralized property to receive not only interest on the loan, but and a commission of 50% of insurance payments,” he said.
According to the expert, what they are now trying to consolidate with the new law on the specifics of insurance of agricultural products with state support, in fact, is also a kind of “accreditation”. This approach is unacceptable, since any company that has received the appropriate license has the right to operate in the market for this type of insurance, he said.

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