Gras Savoye: It's only through mandatory insurance that one can develop the market

Patrick Lucas, the Frenchman who has been running Gras Savoye brokerage group for 20 years, says France has more than 100 types of mandatory insurance and that this is the only way to develop the market. “(…) Without these policies, few people will buy insurance and prices will be higher,” explains Lucas in an interview with ZF. The French group has been present in Romania for 14 years, and in 2009 registered a 14% increase in the value of brokered insurance contracts, to 72m RON (gross underwritten premiums). For 2010, Gras Savoye projects a similar growth pace domestically, so that the value of brokered policies may reach 82m RON. The French group’s strategy is to enter fledgling markets, develop its business from scratch and then buy other brokerages. The same strategy may be applied in Romania, but the group has not spotted any acquisition targets, yet. “We haven’t spotted any acquisition target, yet. It’s a question of opportunity”, Lucas says.