BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 23
By Fidan Babayeva – Trend:
The insurance market of Azerbaijan has sufficient potential to achieve higher development dynamics, Advisor to Executive Director of the Azerbaijan Insurers Association (AIA), Mammad Aghayev told Trend.
The local insurance market uses this potential insufficiently.
“It is for this purpose that the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA), the AIA and the Compulsory Insurance Bureau are working together in the relevant direction and striving to ensure the full use of the existing potential. In this direction, such important projects as improving human resources, introducing education within the existing and potential insurance contingent, and other projects are being implemented,” Aghayev emphasized.
Aghayev said that the insurance market of Azerbaijan is going through a new stage of development.
According to the latest data from the CBA, in the first 8 months of this year, the total collections of local insurance companies amounted to 528.6 million manat ($310.9 million), having increased by 58.9 million manat ($34.6 million) year on year.
He noted that it is also encouraging that since the beginning of this year, the dynamics of total market fees by months is also moving upward.
“If to analyze the corresponding review for each type of insurance separately, we will see that some types of insurance are experiencing positive trends. Examples include "compulsory real estate insurance" and "compulsory third party liability insurance for vehicle owners". High demand for products for these types has been observed since the beginning of this year,” Aghayev said.
“Undoubtedly, COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to threaten the global economy. That is why there are certain elements of stagnation in the pace of development of a large number of sectors and segments of the economy in the world and in Azerbaijan. The pandemic was expected to have a serious negative impact on the insurance sector, but the local insurance market was able to avoid large-scale losses associated with the pandemic. This became possible thanks to a healthy model of economic development of Azerbaijan and successfully implemented preventive measures,” added the advisor.
The Azerbaijan Insurers Association was registered on December 29, 2006, in the Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan with the aim of promoting the development of insurance and reinsurance companies operating in Azerbaijan, as well as their socio-economic development and raising the level of knowledge in this area.
Currently, 21 insurance companies and one reinsurance company operate in Azerbaijan.
(1 USD = 1.7 manat on Oct. 23)
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