Euler Hermes opens branch after notifying CSA

Euler Hermes, a German group that specialises in commercial credit insurance, entered the local market by setting up a local branch, based on the establishment right that EU companies have, according to the Insurance Supervisory Commission (CSA). Such branches have been set up on the Romanian market by insurers Coface (Austria), QBE (UK) and AIG Europe (France). The German group has Coface as a direct competitor, which also specialises in commercial credit insurance. In the first quarter of this year, Coface collected 0.7 million euros from credit insurance. At the end of last year, the company had 25 clients on the credit insurance segment and estimates their number will reach 100 in 2008, and the company’s exposure will be worth 500 million euros. Euler Hermes is part of the German group Allianz, which owns the leader of the local insurance market, Allianz-Tiriac, which derived turnover worth 371 million euros last year. The company is present in 50 countries and controls 36% of the credit insurance market worldwide. In 2007, Euler Hermes posted revenues worth 2.1 billion euros from insurance and a net profit worth 407 million euros.