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International rating agency “Fitch” has changed the forecast on ratings of 12 insurance and reinsurance markets from stable to negative.
Considerable deterioration of conditions in the international financial market, affected balance indicators and financial flexibility of the insurance companies became the reason of change of the forecast.
So, “Fitch” has changed the forecast from stable to negative on ratings of the markets of life and not-life insurance in France, Japan, Switzerland and the Great Britain, and also ratings of the US and Italian insurance markets. The agency has also changed the forecast ratings of medical insurance market of Germany and ratings of the international reinsurance market.
The agency has left without changes the negative forecast concerning six insurance markets, including the market of life insurance in the USA, the forecast on which has been changed from stable to negative on September, 29th. The negative forecast also remained on the markets of health insurance and title insurance in the USA, life insurance in Germany and Italy.
Fitch’s analysts consider that many insurers will incur substantial damages following the results of the III quarter.

Answering questions of journalists after a meeting with representatives of business circles in London, Belarusian vice Premier Andrei Kobyakov has declared that Belarus is to open the insurance market for foreign investors.
Belarusian vice Premier has emphasized that insurance market will be one of those segments where the government will undertake certain steps on attraction of foreign investors.
According to his words Belarus can admit the foreign companies, including in life insurance sphere.
The chief executive of the company Beauchamp and Savrassov, the unique international re-safety broker having representation in Belarus, Kyril Savrassov has underlined, that foreign investors with optimism have apprehended the statement of heads of the Belarusian government for the admission of foreign investors to the insurance market.

American insurance company Prudential Financial Inc. has for the first time lowered dividends against the loss in the third quarter.
The company will start to pay dividends at the rate of 58 cents per share since December, 19th.
Last year the company has paid dividends at the rate of 1,15 dollars per share. Earlier the company increased dividends every year, since primary placing of shares in 2001.
Decrease in dividends is caused by depreciation of company’s actives that has negatively affected the capital.
Last month the company has stopped the repayment of own securities and has fixed the pure loss in the third quarter at the rate of 166 million dollars.
Analysts from Goldman Sachs Group Inc prove that within the following of 12-18 months the situation with actives for the US companies, which are engaged in life insurance, will continue to get worse.

Within nine months of this year, in comparison with last year’s indicators, the volume of insurance charges, got by the Latvian insurance companies, has grown on 14 %. Such information has been given by Associations of insurers of Latvia (Latvijas Apdro š inātāju asociācija, LAA).
For the same period the volume of insurance indemnities has grown on - on 50 %. As a whole, within nine months of this year insurance societies of Latvia have paid to clients on 15% more of payments.
In comparison with the year for nine months of this year the volume of the signed insurance premiums has grown on 19 % and volume of payments - on 42 %.

Torbjörn Magnusson, chairman of Estonia’s largest insurer If P&C Insurance Holding Ltd considers insurance as stable business, which present crisis will not affect.
According to the words of member of board ERGO Marek Zacek, economic recession equally influences all spheres, including insurance. First of all, it is reflected in reduction of insurance portfolio growth, after all people buy less real estate, cars and so forth
On the other hand, recession causes growth of insurance swindle. Also because of problems with the insurance companies’ liquidity the pressure upon cost of services of the companies can increase, that, in turn, can lead to problems with insurance payments.
Torbjörn Magnusson considers, that insurance business will continue to grow. According to his words absorption will not take place; however, merges are quite possible.
If now approximately 25 % of inhabitants of Estonia do not have any insurance police, the next years this figure, most likely, will be reduced. Magnusson is sure, that in 20 years in Estonia all houses and apartments will be insured.