Scholarly record

THE DYNAMICS OF THE INSURANCE MARKET FROM ROMANIA CASE STUDY 2015-2016

O. Sicoe-Murg, S. Constantinescu, C. Stoenescu, R. Ciolac, T. Mateoc

Abstract

Everyone needs protection, whether if we think at individuals or legal entities. Throughout a lifetime, are accumulate a series of goods, values, agonized with a lot of labor, which can disappear in a moment following a fire, an earthquake, a theft or some other reason. The resulting financial loss can not be offset otherwise than by insurance. The insurance market is a framework in which insurance transactions are carried out only on a contractual basis. Here are found the insurance request, coming from individuals and legal entities wishing to conclude different types of insurance and the insurance offer, coming from the legal entities, namely, organizations, specialized companies, which are authorized to operate in the insurance field and to carrying out such an activity, of course, under financial report. Compared to other countries from Western Europe, it can be said that Romania does not have an old insurance tradition, although manifestations of protection on mutual bases exist in Transylvania even from14th century. Today, the insurance market in our country is dominated by international groups with tradition and experience in the field. Insurance companies are in continuous changing, adapting to the requirements of the market, but also to the economic and financial situation from the country. All these changes lead to the improvement and promotion of the insurance policies of all kinds, which is beneficial for both insurers and insured. The insurance market from Romania is characterized by a high degree of concentration. In 2015, a total of 79.25% from the total gross written premiums was made by 10 insurance companies from 35 companies performing insurance/reinsurance activity at 31 December 2015, a situation similar to the previous years and the first quarter of 2016. Unlike the European insurance market which is dominated by the life insurance segment (about 61% according to Insurance Europe data for 2014), in Romania it represented only about 17% of gross written premiums, the market being dominated by general insurance, respectively the auto ones. Regarding the geographical distribution of underwritings, it is noted that both in case of general insurances and life insurances, the contracts with cumulative most important value are in Bucharest and Ilfov, followed at a significant distance by the Northwest, South and Center Regions. In case of life insurances, the discrepancy between Bucharest and Ilfov region and the other regions of the country is much more pronounced.

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