BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.24
By Zeyni Jafarov – Trend:
Demand for compulsory insurance prevailed in Azerbaijan’s real estate market in 2020, Executive Director of the country’s Insurers Association (AIA) Elmar Mirsalayev told Trend.
According to Mirsalayev, this was due to the widespread awareness of citizens about this product. However, developing the mechanism in the right direction can also be considered key.
He noted that compulsory types of insurance are the main driver of the insurance market and the volume of compulsory types isn't as large as voluntary ones.
“Namely for this reason the development of an appropriate insurance class and adequate use of the existing potential can shape the insurance habits of citizens. This, in turn, gives impetus to the development of voluntary insurance and the market as a whole,” added the executive director.
Mirsalayev stressed that by the end of 2019, compulsory real estate insurance showed a noticeable growth trend (by 26 percent). This trend continued in the first 3 months of 2020. In January last year alone, a 2-fold increase was recorded compared to the same month of 2019.
“Unfortunately, this increase did not last long. The growth, which lasted the entire first quarter of 2020, was replaced by a decline in the rest of the quarters. The reason for this was the lack of a single regulatory mechanism,” he further said.
The executive director also noted that in 2020 19 percent of the total real estate insurance collections accounted for Ateshgah Sigorta, AzSigorta, Gunay Sigorta, Ipek Yolu Sigorta, and AtaSigorta OJSCs, while in 2019, the figure was 28 percent. The share of insurance payments by these companies amounted to 39 percent against 19 percent in the previous year.
Mirsalayev summed up that 93 percent of concluded insurance contracts in Azerbaijan fell on individuals, and the remaining seven percent - on legal entities, while total insurance premiums were formed mainly by legal entities (73 percent).
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