Insurance News – auto insurance, health insurance quotes

The second-largest Polish bank PKO BP, possessed by the state, negotiates for purchase of local branch of American insurer American International Group Inc.
PKO management battles to the basic competitor in the Polish bank sector – Pekao, which is supervised by Italian financial group UniCredit.
Concerning the purchase of actives AIG, PKO is not going to finance the transaction from own capital, for these purposes the bank is going to involve the additional capital.
Sale of Polish branch AIG is a part of the plan of the American insurance group on attraction of cash after prevention of its bankruptcy owing to the help of the American government at the rate of $152 billion. Analytics estimate Polish business AIG in cost of $0,5 billion up to $1 billion. At the same time, many of them warn of high risks at the similar transaction, which can give РКО more losses, than benefits.

Since January, 1st, 2009, the governmental order of Moscow from August, 5th, 2008, 700 «About perfection of insurance system of premises in Moscow» certain some changes in conditions of insurance
Since January, 1st, 2009 there will be certain changes in conditions of insurance. There will be increase in the size of payments at insurance case. In the initial size defining the size of payment for premises damaged as a result of insurance case, insurance cost of one square meter of premises. Now it is equal to 17 thousand rubles ($404). Since January, 1st, 2009, insurance cost of one square meter of total area of premises is established at 20 000 rubles ($476). It means that payments will increase almost by 18 %.
Change of tariff has not occurred, it has remained 6-7 times below commercial, but because of increase in cost of your apartment the payment for insurance has slightly increased.

Medical insurance at departure abroad is obligatory thing; without it is impossible to not receive entry visa in the countries of the Schengen agreement. However, not all tourists closely study terms of insurance and, signing the document, do not know, what exactly enters into the insurance policy. Meanwhile, typical medical insurance includes a minimum of services. For example, the emergency stomatologic help, as a rule, is not included.

Many tourists learn about insidiousness of item “franchise”, when nothing can already be corrected. Insurances with the franchise are usually bought for mass directions tour operators for reduction in price of cost of permits. Meanwhile, under such insurance the tourist should pay a part of even the included into insurance policy medical services.

Travelers’ base medical insurance, which is offered to tour operators, does not include risks, connected with employment by productive leisure and extreme kinds of sports: diving, rafting, mountain skiing. So, the policy of the diver for a week trip to Egypt will manage approximately in $30 at the insurance sum in $30 000. It is recommended to buy it, even if the tourist is going to dive only once.

The specialized insurance is necessary for mountain skiers. The tendency of last years in the Europe shows that more and more wide application of helicopters for evacuation of victims from mountain. It is extremely expensive operation.

Foreign companies are more actively study Russian insurance market. According to last data, from 11 new companies registered in the past to year, four companies are foreign.
Some “foreigners” in Russia create affiliated companies “from zero”, others – buy already known Russian companies with the developed agency and filial network. For example, last year two large transactions took place: German insurer Allianz has established the control above ROSNO, and group Zurich (Switzerland) has merged insurance company “Nasta”. Thus both companies – Zurich, and Allianz – work in Russia also under own brands. However, Russian insurance market has opened for the western companies already for a long time. Besides the named companies, “daughters” of many international insurance groups already work in Russia. These are such companies as AIG, ACE, AVIVA, ERGO, Fortis, ING, Czech insurance company and others. However, according to experts’ estimations, the quota, existing today in the Russian insurance market on a share of foreign capital participation (25 %) is not settled.
in Russian market Foreign insurance companies are interested, first of all, in life insurance.

Interest to the country real estate after insurance has greatly increased after the decision of the Constitutional Court, which allowed Russians to register on summer residences. It was declared by again pointed out by Dmitry Maslov, general director of “Rosgosstrah-Capital”.
According to Maslov, the boom of insurance of summer residences in Russia will not be, but interest to insurance of the country real estate will undoubtedly increase.
In his opinion this decision does not directly influence insurance, but Russians should not forget that they also have duties together with the legal rights. People, getting over on a constant place a residence for city, will spend heating in houses, to transport valuable there property, and, naturally, they will have reasons for insuring their country houses from fire, disasters and robberies.
Russians do actively insure their summer residences of these risks. In sphere of country real estate insurance activity of the population is much higher, than in the cities.

The number of the Russians, who are having a rest abroad, is steadily growing. Thus, going abroad, they should not feed illusions – in case of state of emergency they should rely only on themselves.
According to Russian statistic bureau, in 2007 9,37 million Russian tourists  have traveled abroad – it is almost on 20 % more, than the year before. In 2008 (according to different estimations) growth will make about 15 %.
But the level of security of the Russian tourists does not rise.
In 2007 the Russian tourist industry union (RTIU) has put questions of insurance and the responsibility. There was a memorandum, where the problem of deliberate reduction of the list of risks and limits on an insurance covering in tourist list has been designated. The standard insurance includes emergency out-patient or hospitalization during a trip, delivery in hospital, “medical or death repatriation up to the airport” and the organization of all of it by insurers. RTIU experts are assured, that the list should be expanded a minimum three times. Besides, payments not always suffice for settlement of insurance cases.
Experts explain it by vulnerability of tourists a dumping of insurers at struggle for contracts with tour operators.

Despite all forecasts, global changes have not occurred, all players have remained in the market, and monopolization has not occurred. Moreover, it has not occurred and predicted absolute destruction of fine tour agencies has not ceased to work. Certainly, in result of innovations tour agencies began to concern more closely to the client, to legal subtleties at drawing up of the contract, and it is the positive moment. The discontent of tour agencies with the law resulted at all that all of them unfair and it would be necessary to pay the insurance premium more often now. On the contrary, there are many firms, which work with the clientele from year to year due to expensive trips, and it is natural, that they are interested to serve it as much as possible well. It is clear, that such tour agencies had a natural irritation from the law.
In the insurance market of going abroad tourists situation is not so good, and it is connected with an old problem of parity «the price- the sum of insurer’s responsibility». It is clear, that tour operators are the basic channel of sales of tourist insurance. And they, naturally, aspire to reduce the price of insurance product, and try to dictate their terms to the insurance companies.

There is also a need for the state support – in fact, insurance support (in a counterbalance to direct payments from the budget to the suffered agriculture producers), which allows to use budgetary funds more rationally and to reach greater effect at smaller expenses. On the other hand, the state support of insurance is directed on overcoming of those natural restrictions, which prevent agrarian insurance development in cleanly market conditions – low profitability, complexity of tariffing, etc. Hence, state support allows reaching reduction in price of insurance for agricultural manufacturers through the mechanism of the insurance premium subsidizing, and also puts public services into operation on granting the information and methodological help to the insurance companies. Interaction of the state, insurers and insurants is based on observance of three important principles:
• Information transparency, which foresees active exchange of a trustworthy information between establishments and the organizations, representing the different interested parties;
• Stability of the same establishments existence (the Law on agricultural risks insurance in Spain has been accepted in 1978, and it has not been changed since then);
• Spirit of cooperation between agrarian insurance market participants.
Specificity of crop and definition of damage insurance contract imposes a number of difficulties at work on voluntary insurance on market conditions. Every Russian underwriter or expert on payments knows these problems. Voluntaries of insurance means also the special approach in risks’ portfolio management, and complexities with diversification (including territorial), and difficulties in establishment of limit for own deduction (both on separate regions, and on areas and on facilities).

 

During last five years the market of building risks insurance develops dynamically. In 2005 almost 80 % of building operations were insured, thus the cumulative insurance premium on construction risks insurance has made 5,3 billion rubles. For comparison, in 2000 the share of insured risks made only 30 %. In 2006 the market has grown almost on 40 % and has got 9,0 billion rubles of the insurance premium. And though adjusted totals for 2007 are not brought yet, according to the forecasts, existing dynamics of growth of building risks insurance market is kept. We expect, that the cumulative insurance premium on insurance of construction risks for a year will make nearby 12 billion rubles.
There are some reasons of growth. First one is that the general rise of the building market, as a whole, and also increases of interest to insurance of building risks affects investors and customers. Development of the market occurs basically due to activization of operations on insurance of social and construction works. Secondly, new kinds of insurance – such, as insurance of after-building guarantee shows that, insurance of the responsibility under state contracts have started to develop actively.

 

The second annual conference “Modern ways of financing of the commercial real estate: leasing, design financing, IPO”  will offer case study in the context of which leasing experts will tell detail about practical questions of the real estate leasing transactions.
In experts’ opinion, absence of precise legislative regulation of legal procedures of registration of transactions with real estate is to become one of the primary factors, braking leasing development, as way of commercial real estate financing.
So, absence of procedure on real estate leasing transactions registration allows each registering body to carry out it in own way.
Also one more essential moment relies in opacity of the market of the commercial real estate, both as market of “seller”, and its inadequacy, to the pure and transparent financial tool – to leasing.
At the second annual conference “Modern ways of financing of the commercial real estate: leasing, design financing, IPO ” which will pass on May, 15th, at hotel Marriott Grand, experts will in detail tell about practical questions of real estate leasing transactions.
In case study leasing companies, which representatives will tell about pluses and minuses of this way of financing of projects on example of concrete transactions, will also participate.