Allianz Tiriac expects less than 10% growth for general insurance

Allianz-Tiriac, the leading player on the insurance market has budgeted an under 10% increase on the general insurance segment, which accounts for 90% of the insurer’s overall business, while so far, the company has seen two-digit growth. “It hasn’t been easy to put together the 2009 budget. We had several scenarios that we later changed. The first scenario provided for an over 10% growth, and the latest suggests a less than 10% increase. There are many uncertain things, that only time will clear up,” said Aurel Badea, executive manager of Allianz-Tiriac’s general insurance segment. He says Romania has not gone through such a crisis up until now, and that the government’s strategy now plays an important part. “We are not devising scenarios as to the impact of the crisis on the market, but the government and its policy play an important part, because the insurance market is dependent on the economy as a whole. If the economy functions well, insurance demand is on the rise, and if the economy is down, insurance demand also declines, but not proportionately. There are certain types of insurance that stand to gain in a crisis, such as commercial credit insurance,” added Badea.