Insurance News

Therefore some insurance companies offer the concrete short-term programs, including medical and accident insurance.
Insurance upon accident differs from vacation insurance by the form of payments. If in the first case insurance company compensates the means spent for treatment, within the limits of the insurance sum, at insurance upon accident the insurance sum (certainly if the occasion for this purpose) is paid completely. The list of accidents includes traumas, crises, and overcooling, poisoning, defeat by an electric current.
How to receive the insurance at insurance case? Within thirty days it is necessary to inform insurance company on it (it is possible to do by phone). After this it is necessary to give the information on reception of a trauma and the passed treatment. The question on the validity of insurance case is solved within seven working days.
Can situations, when the insurance case does not admit valid, take place? Yes, it can happen. If, for example, during this moment the insured person was drunk or accident is recognized deliberate.
This kind of insurance is very good for children. The child, getting in risk situation which is hazardous to health and even to life (climbing trees, roofs) will not, most likely, realize all completeness of risk.
By the way, nuclear explosion and civil war are not considered as accident.

World crisis has helped Russia to leave in number of leaders on investment appeal. Research, lead by Ernst& Young, proves it.
Results of the research lead Ernst and Young (E&Y) testify show that the Western Europe and Northern America lose the investment appeal. The company has interrogated 834 top-managers of the international companies.
In 2006, in investors’ opinion these two regions were indisputable favorites, but now they have yielded the palm to China. About 47 % of respondents have named China attractive region for investments, 33 % of respondents have given the same category to the Western Europe and only 12% - to the USA and Canada. But Russia has increased its popularity among investors within the fastest last two years - from 5 % in 2006 up to 21 % in 2008.
Experts are assured that Russia has been estimated in a new fashion on a background of the world financial crisis, which has struck the developed countries. The country has for a long time showed good macroeconomic parameters.

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.

Morris Grinberg, who has almost for 40 years supervised insurance company AIG, approves, that the company is “in crisis”, and insists on canceling of shareholders’ annual assembly.
He stated this requirement in the letter to board of AIG directors, which copy is directed to the US Commission under securities and stock exchanges. Grinberg has emphasized that he, as well as millions other investors, are concerned by deterioration of position of the great company.
Former AIG general director does not accept incessant and seeming infinite destruction of cost AIG. During last year company’s shares have fallen in price on 72,5 %.
In reply to Grinberg’s letter management of the insurance company has declared, that it does not see necessity to postpone shareholders’ assembly.
Last week AIG has declared about the largest for the history loss - $7,8 billion, which has been caused by write-offs almost $15 billion the actives, provided by credit and hypothec tools.

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.

The elderly inhabitant of American state Wisconsin Bean Fenning has offered the unusual transaction to the potential buyers of the house: if he dies within 10 years after the conclusion of the contract on sale of the house, the buyer will receive $500 thousand under the contract on Fenning’s life insurance.
Cost of the house (the area is about 520 square meters) makes $498,9 thousand. According to local real estate agents given offer favorably distinguishes Fenning from other real estate sellers, demand on which in staff has sharply fallen because of the hypothec crisis, which has recently burst in the USA.
The buyer will receive nothing in case if Fenning will commit suicide or he will be killed.
The buyer can study Fenning’s medical card. The man proves, that his parents and sister have died, not having lived till 79 years old.

Today Insurers already state satisfaction concerning expected annual results: 20-30% growth of premiums - it is preliminary forecast of classical insurance market development within the last year (on results of the first half-year, the volume of the collected premiums has on 28% exceeded similar parameter in 2006). According to experts’ estimations, current year also promises good growth. According to insurance company Allianz, in following year classical insurance market will put on weight 40-50 %, and in absolute parameters it will reach $1,8-2 billion.
Life insurance companies show even more impressing results. The gain of premiums by results of the first half-year has made 67 %. According to national manager of Grawe Group in Ukraine, unlike venture capital market, where approach of a stage of achievement of critical weight minds of consumers concerning necessity of insurance and its advantage has already settled down, in life insurance this effect is late a little and will come little bit later. Accordingly in 2008 rates of growth of life insurance market will be essentially higher, than classical.
Also the tendency of the last years - reduction circuit insurance will proceed. It is caused by active demand for real insurance services and toughening of insurance branch regulation, directed on reduction of tax optimization. Thus, in total amount of insurance payments the share of financial schemes will decrease up to 40 %.

Purchase of company “Region” is the second step of If’s strategy in Russia. Last spring If has opened branch with branches in St.-Petersburg and Moscow.
The head of operations of group If in Russia and Baltic has explained  If will continue to serve corporate clients from Scandinavia rendering qualitative services, but the today’s agreement also allows us to enter the internal Russian insurance market.
On the preliminary data, in 2007 the collected premiums of “Region” have made nearby 23,7 million euro. The basic part of insurance payments has been collected under contracts of property insurance.
The insurance society “Region” works since 1993. The company has 8 offices of sales in St.-Petersburg and regional network from 16 branches. “Region” is noted by the national premium “Financial Russia-2007″ as the best company in St.-Petersburg.

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.