Azerbaijan, Baku, 31 July / Trend I.Khalilova /
An insurance pool to cover catastrophic risks operator, reinsurance company AzRe, will be established under the Azerbaijan Insurers Association (AIA), chairman of the association Orkhan Bayramov told Trend.
"Given AzRe renders reinsurance services, it is not a competition for others. Therefore, insurance companies are willing to provide the reinsurer with necessary information on risks," Bayramov said.
This model has already been applied in Turkey. "Although we initially studied the Romanian model, it soon became clear that Romanian insurers have also adopted the Turkish experience in the creation of a catastrophic insurance pool," Bayramov said.
According to him, a preliminary agreement has already been reached for the formation of a pool and the transfer of information. "It is expected to sign the agreement between the companies in September, and the pool will involve the member-companies of the Compulsory Insurance Bureau at the initial stage, as the project for insurance against catastrophic risks is associated with compulsory insurance of real estate. All members of the Bureau and the reinsurance company have agreed to participate in the pool," the AIA head said.
12 companies are participants of the Compulsory Insurance Bureau: Paşa Sığorta, Atəşgah Sığorta Şirkəti, Standard Insurance Sığorta Şirkəti, AtaSığorta, Xalq Sığorta, AXA MBASK Sığorta Şirkəti, AZSIĞORTA, Alfa Sığorta, the state commercial insurance company Azərsığorta, Meqa Sığorta, İpək Yolu Sığorta and Azərbaycan Sənaye Sığorta.
According to Bayramov, the association and the bureau members have also held talks with a number of other insurance companies regarding the future involvement in the pool of the risks of voluntary insurance. "There is a great need, as the damage from the earthquake is so large that the company is not able to cover it, and for this you need a pool to transfer risks for reinsurance abroad," Bayramov said.
The issue of contributions from insurance companies to the pool and other details is currently being negotiated.
There are 28 insurance companies and one reinsurance company in Azerbaijan. All of them are members of the AIA.
