BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 9
By Zeyni Jafarov – Trend:
The COVID-19 epidemic has spread widely throughout the world in a short period and has had an impact on all sectors of the economy, including the insurance sector, the Azerbaijan Insurers Association told Trend.
“At the first signs of the pandemic, insurance companies operating in Azerbaijan began to develop an action plan and carry out their activity based on this plan,” the association said. “At the same time, the main goal was to protect the rights of clients, render the most efficient services to them, and preserve the financial stability of the companies.”
“All forecasts related to the insurance sector for 2020, as in other economic spheres, were changed,” the association said. “During this period, following the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers’ decision on measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, employees involved in the insurance sector switched to the remote work by using the digital platforms.”
“The impact of the pandemic on the country's insurance market has affected several products,” the association said. “Firstly, the insurance sector suffered because of travel agencies. The number of insurance contracts decreased by 99 percent.
“Secondly, a great decrease is observed in compulsory civil liability insurance of motor vehicle owners,” the association said. “Finally, there was a decline in the compulsory real estate insurance sector, in which the fees were dynamic in the first months of this year, but due to the pandemic, they began to slow down, resulting in an increase of only 27 percent compared to last year.”
Today there are 21 insurance companies and one reinsurance company in Azerbaijan.
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