BRD set to enter life insurance segment

BRD-SocGen group is preparing to create a new unit – BRD Asigurari de Viata, which, according to the organised schedule, will start its operations in August, Damien Marechal, country manager for Romania of SogeCap, the life insurance and long-term savings products unit of Societe Generale, told ZIARUL FINANCIAR.
BRD Asigurari de Viata will operate as a subsidiary of SogeCap, which arrived on the market last autumn with the creation of BRD Fond de Pensii, with a 51 percent interest.
“SogeCap will be present in Romania through two companies: BRD Fond de Pensii and BRD Asigurari de Viata. The life insurance company will most likely become operational in August,” said Damien Marechal. He will supervise the two entities from the position of country manager, although, for legal reasons, BRD Asigurari de Viata and BRD Fond de Pensii will have different executive managers.
France-based Societe Generale first announced its intention to set up a life insurance unit in Romania shortly after it launched the mandatory private pension company (pillar II) in September 2007.
Besides life insurance, the new company will also sell voluntary pensions (pillar III). By law, the minimum share capital a company needs to set up a life insurance firm stands at 12 million RON (3.3 million euros).
“Launching life insurance, structured financing and boosting long-term savings will be BRD’s three main projects in 2008,” stated Patrick Gelin, BRD-SocGen chairman. He considers long-term savings, inclusively in the form of life insurance, is worthy of more support from fiscal legislation in order to encourage specific customer behaviour. Another two major European companies have announced their entrance onto the market of life insurance: Dutch Aegon and Germany’s Ergo.
The market, on which 17 companies now operate, last year exceeded the 400 million-euro mark (24% more than in 2006) in terms of the volume of gross underwritten premiums, and is expected to reach 500 million euros this year.