Azernews.Az

By Sara Israfilbayova

Azerbaijani insurers expect growth in the country’s insurance market by 40 percent by the end of the year.

Mustafa Abbasbeyli, chairman of the Azerbaijan Insurers Association, said at an event on the signing of a memorandum between the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population, the Financial Market Supervision Authority (FIMSA), the Compulsory Insurance Bureau and insurance companies.

“The insurance market of Azerbaijan shows stable growth every year. Every year the market showed a growth of 10 percent, but this year shows a growth of 30 percent. This is evident in the eight months of 2018. Therefore, we expect that by the end of the year the insurance market of Azerbaijan will reach the figure of 750 million manats ($441.18 million), which means a 40 percent increase,” said Abbasbeyli.

The head of the Association stressed that the main task facing the insurance market of Azerbaijan today is to achieve proportional growth of all insurance types.

“To date, some insurance types in the country are growing quite actively, but other types of staying on a stable level. We want to achieve a proportional growth of all types of insurance. In particular, our plans include an increase in compulsory insurance against accidents at work from the current 40 million manats ($23.53 million) to 100 million manats ($58.52 million), which means 150 percent growth for this type of insurance,” Abbasbeyli said.

Insurance against work accidents

Moreover, Azerbaijan will strengthen supervision on insurance against occupational accidents, according to the memorandum of cooperation signed at the meeting by Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, FIMSA, the Compulsory Insurance Bureau, as well as insurance companies Ateshgah Life, PASHA Life and Qala Life.

Presently, the penetration rate of insurance against industrial accidents is 35 percent, said FIMSA's CEO Ibrahim Alishov.

"Considering that, out of 3.3 million employees, 1.6 million are insured, as a result of the integration of information systems, penetration of this type of insurance, as well as fees, will significantly increase," he said.