Baku, Azerbaijan, June 20
Trend:
Azerbaijani "Ateshgah Sigorta" insurance company revised forecasts on fees for the current year. the company`s chairman Talat Safarov told Trend.
"Yes, we have a definite plan, but it had to be adjusted due to recent regulatory changes related to the loan restriction. Therefore, it is difficult to talk about specific estimates of growth yet" he said.
Last year the Central Bank of Azerbaijan demanded the country's banks tighten control over consumer loans. The CBA sent a letter with instructions to the banks operating in the country to stop lending to the borrower without a work place reference. Furthermore, the conditions for issuance of a loan for the purchase of a car have also been tightened, as the experts say it is due to the deterioration of the portfolio quality of the banking sector for this type of lending.
This decision led to a sharp decline in car sales on loan and, as a consequence, it was reflected in the fees of insurance companies, most of which was generated by the policies of obligatory and voluntary automobile insurance.
"We understand that there is a need to find new ways, and we are already working on the products prepared in different segments: these are car, property insurance, and related work with retailers. Any such crises are a good opportunity to understand that it is necessary to look for new directions and do not stand on stable streams present at the moment," Safarov added.
"Ateshgah" and "Ateshgah Hayat" companies are included in the same insurance group. Both of the companies have collected 12.44 million AZN and 20.24 million AZN respectively in the amount of payments 5.57 million AZN and 1.9 million AZN in January-May, according to the State Insurance Supervision Service under the Ministry of Finance.
Official exchange rate on June 20 is 0.7843 AZN / USD.
Edited by CN