Στην ομιλία του στο πλαίσιο της 21ης Συνάντησης Ασφαλιστών και Αντασφαλιστών, στην Ύδρα ο Πρόεδρος της Ένωσης Ασφαλιστικών Εταιριών Ελλάδος, κ. Αλ. Σαρρηγεωργίου αναφέρθηκε στη σημερινή καθώς και στη μελλοντική θέση της ιδιωτικής ασφάλισης στην οικονομία της χώρας.
Για την ελληνική Ασφαλιστική Αγορά επισήμανε:
“Το ασφάλιστρο ανά κάτοικο είναι μόνο 368 € έναντι του ευρωπαϊκού μέσου όρου στα 2.030 € – παραμένει πολύ χαμηλό-.Το 2018 δείχνει ότι η αγορά μας αυξάνεται κατά 2% και το 1ο εξάμηνο του 2019 σε ένα καλύτερο κλιπ 3,9%. Και οι δύο αυτοί αριθμοί είναι πάνω από την αύξηση του ΑΕΠ στη χώρα, η οποία επίσης βελτιώνεται.
Όσον αφορά την Ελλάδα, πρέπει να έχουμε ακόμη ένα μήνυμα: ο ελληνικός ασφαλιστικός κλάδος πλήρως προσαρμοσμένος και συμμορφωμένος με τη φερεγγυότητα ΙΙ, και αυτό κατά τα χρόνια της έντονης οικονομικής κρίσης. Η αγορά μας έχει όλες τις προϋποθέσεις για να αναλάβει μεγαλύτερο ρόλο στην οικονομία: έχουμε τεχνογνωσία, εμπειρία, ανθρώπινο δυναμικό, κεφάλαιο, εποπτεία και ένα ευρωπαϊκό διαβατήριο.” Και πρόσθεσε: “Είμαστε πολύ χαρούμενοι που η νέα κυβέρνηση θεωρεί τον ιδιωτικό ασφαλιστικό κλάδο ως σημαντικό εταίρο της κοινωνικής ασφάλισης σε τομείς όπως το συνταξιοδοτικό σύστημα των 3 πυλώνων και η υγεία καθώς και η προστασία της ιδιοκτησίας και των φυσικών καταστροφών. Έχουμε παρατηρήσει με ενθουσιασμό τη δήλωση της κυβέρνησης για τα σχέδια παροχής κινήτρων για ιδιωτική ασφάλιση. Είναι επικίνδυνο ότι είμαστε οι λιγότερο ασφαλισμένοι σε συντάξεις, υγεία και σεισμό. Δεν έχουμε την πολυτέλεια να παραμείνουμε ανασφάλιστοι…».
Ακολουθεί η ομιλία του κ. Σαρρηγεωργίου στα Αγγλικά.
Mr. Minister, ladies & gentlemen,
Dear Friends,
On behalf of the Hellenic Association of Insurance Companies, I welcome you to the 21st insurance and reinsurance meeting that this year is back home on the beautiful island of Hydra-where it all started 21 years ago.
We are looking forward to an interesting session ahead, where we will have the chance to discuss the opportunities and threats our market is facing.
The world around us, more so than in recent decades is at a turning point. We are facing critical challenges on social, environmental, economic, political and technological fronts. Challenges that appear and mutate with alarming speed.
Our world, as a secure and healthy environment in which to live and grow, is facing multiple interrelated challenges; international relations, climate change, natural catastrophes, social upheaval and reaction to new social norms. And last but not least, persistent slow growth in large parts of the developed world resulting in a financial market environment we have never seen before and here I am referring to negative interest rates. In particular it is as if financial gravity has been suspended and we have to learn how to live with it.
In this world, the insurance & reinsurance market must adapt so as to be able to continue to be relevant, i.e. to provide people with the security they need to live and work. This is our mission.
I will very briefly touch on some of the biggest challenges facing the insurance and reinsurance industry today:
1) Technology: in a fast moving world, customers demand relevant insurance covers, fast, cheap and transparent. Traditional insurance & reinsurance providers must adapt quickly now on the expense and communication front, while traditional insurance intermediaries must redefine their role. I’m afraid we are still operating in old and expensive ways. All of us must learn to live with smaller margins.
2) Big Data & Analytics are key into approaching the right people with the right product at the right time in the right way. And given that big data is gathered by organizations who are not in the insurance business, the question becomes not whether but when they might get into our business and in which way we can effectively cooperate with them and /or react.
3) Regulation and Supervision: Solvency II, IFRS 17, IFRS 9, GDPR, IDD & PRIIPS and multitude of other regulations seek to protect the consumer while making insurance more expensive and return on equity in insurance lower for investors. Yes, capital is abundant in insurance and reinsurance but returns are dropping. While no one can argue against the need for proper regulation and standards, the continued one-way move to more regulation will render the position of traditional insurers untenable. And since there is no void in nature, this position may be filled by questionable unregulated operators. We insurers, and regulators must seek for middle ground.
4) Last but not least more and more we are facing challenges such as low for long negative interest rates, which are already here, the inverted demographic pyramid, natural catastrophes and climate change, cyber risk.
These seem to be all coming together in what looks like a perfect storm but at the same time a perfect opportunity where services are most needed by society. So how do our markets look?
Facing all these in our home Europe, we have an insurance market that is the 3rd largest in the world behind Asia and North America, with GWP 1.213 € billion or 1.469 $ billion and market share 29,6%.
The latest 2017 figures are showing a healthy growth rate of 4,7%.
In closing a few words about Greek insurance market:
Per capita insurance premium is only 368 € vs the European average at 2.030 € – remains very low- .
2018 show our market grow modestly by 2% and the 1st half of 2019 at a better clip of 3,9%
Both of these numbers are above GDP growth in the country, which is also improving.
Regarding Greece we should keep in mind one more message: the Greek insurance industry fully adapted and complied to Solvency II, and this during the years of intense economic crisis.
Our market has all the prerequisites to assume a greater role in the economy: we have know-how, experience, human resources, capital, supervision and a European passport.
Mr. Minister, Mr. Mytarakis,
We are welcome you here today and we are very happy that the new government sees the private insurance industry as an important partner to social insurance in areas such as the 3 pillar pensions system and health as well as property protection and natural catastrophes.
We have noted with excitement the declaration of the government of the plans for incentives for private insurance. It’s dangerous that we are the least insured people in pensions, health and earthquake. We cannot afford to remain uninsured.
We believe that growth of the Greek insurance market which already is the largest institutional investor in the country (14,5 billion in investments) can and will fuel further economic growth.
We are here, willing, ready and able to constructively work with the State in seeking a way forward that will help both the economy and the man on the street and we look forward to working with you.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I wish you a productive as well as an enjoyable stay in Hydra.
Thank you very much.
Alexandros Sarrigeorgiou
