Azerbaijan's insurance market has huge potential

The processes of the Azerbaijani insurance market have recently confirmed its great potential, Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Finance Azer Bayramov said at the Azerbaijan International Insurance Forum AIIF - 2012 today.

"The total amount of fees increased by 37 per cent in 2011 given an increase in non-oil GDP by nine per cent," Bayramov said. "According to the data as of the first half of the year, the market grew by 67-68 per cent, while the non-oil sector increased by 10 per cent. However, the volume of the market is still low. It is necessary to increase it. We intend to maintain these high growth rates."

He said that despite the unstable situation on the world financial markets over the last four years, the total aggregate capital of all insurance companies has doubled, the share capital increased by 3.3 times.

"This is a result of the activity of the market regulator, raising the level of professionalism of the insurance companies," Bayramov said.

Executive director of the Azerbaijan Insurers Association Azer Aliyev said that the development of the insurance market by 40 per cent in 2011 is the result of successful cooperation between the state, private sector and public organisations.

Chairman of the parliamentary committee on economic policy Ziyad Samadzade stressed that the current rate of growth and potential testify to the fact that the market has the opportunity to increase its share in GDP up to two to three per cent.

The senior heads of national insurance, reinsurance and brokerage companies in the region of the Caucasus, Turkey, Central Asia, Europe, Russia and the CIS are attending the event.

The State Insurance Supervision Service under the Azerbaijani Ministry of Finance, as well as the Romanian PR-campaign Media XPRIMM provides the association with organisational support.


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