Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug. 19 / Trend A.Akhundov /
Roughly 70-80 percent of insured property is concentrated in Baku, the Azerbaijani State Property Issue Committee's Dashinmaz Emlak magazine reported.
"The country's northern and southern regions follow Baku in the quantity of property insured. Property insurance in those regions is linked with the presence of tourist facilities. Property insurance is underdeveloped in the country's low-land regions", the paper reported.
Some 60-70 percent of property insurance reported claims in Azerbaijan are associated with fires. In second place are claims against theft.
"Researchers of the Azerbaijani insurance market believe that property insurance has not yet accrued people's trust, as most do not believe in this type of insurance, and show disinterest", the paper states.
As a result, mainly buildings in the commercial industry purchase insurance. Commercial shares in the property insurance market account for 70-80 percent of the industry, with the majority share holders being hotels and commercial businesses.
"Interest in voluntary housing insurance remains weak, with shares still estimated at 5-8 percent", the paper states.
According to the Azerbaijani Finance Ministry's State Insurance Supervision Service, the insurance companies collected premiums amounting to 54.997 million manat in the first seven months of 2011, which is higher by 10.17 percent compared to the same period of 2010, making up 47.22 percent of total fees.
In June, Azerbaijan adopted the law "On compulsory types of insurance", which regulates four types of compulsory insurance, including real estate insurance.
The bill states that regardless of housing costs, insurance sums are set at 25,000 manat for Baku, with the release amount of 250 manat. The figures are 20,000 manat and 200 manat, respectively, for Sumgait, Ganja, and Nakhchivan, and 15,000 manat and 150 manat for other regions.
The volume of premiums should not exceed 0.2 percent of the insurance sum.