Business Forum • 15 October, 2024 at 11:16 AM
The local insurance market remains on an upward trend with optimistic prospects for the coming year. The involvement of established players, innovation from start-ups, and support from the political environment lay the foundation for a prosperous future in Romania's insurance market. These were the conclusions of the 8th edition of the Transylvania Insurance Days (TID), an event organized by LIFE IS HARD.
TID 2024 brought together key representatives from insurance companies, brokers, banking, technology, and the political arena to discuss the most pressing issues facing the Romanian insurance market, as well as the SEE (South-Eastern Europe) region. Held on October 9-10 in Cluj-Napoca, the event reinforced its reputation as the industry's premier event, attracting over 200 C-level executives, decision-makers, and business leaders.
The event was moderated by Laurențiu-Sergiu Costache, co-founder of Xprimm Media Group and President of the Association for the Promotion of Insurance. The conference featured numerous speakers, panels, and sessions, which can be found here.
Key Insights and Discussions
During several panel discussions, participants explored the regulatory landscape in Romania, the potential of bancassurance partnerships, the challenges and opportunities in life and health insurance, and the role of emerging technologies. The event highlighted several key themes, offering a glimpse into the future of the industry in the SEE region.
The insurance market is highly responsive to stimuli from various stakeholders, including insurance companies, brokers, authorities, and consumers. Finding more efficient mechanisms for collaboration between these actors can contribute to a faster market development. Tiberiu Maier, CEO of Signal Iduna and Board Member of UNSAR, emphasized this point, applauding the efforts made in recent years.
Mircea Abrudean, Secretary General of the Government, spoke about governmental efforts to promote digitization and innovation, noting that Romania's OECD accession could influence financial and insurance sector standards and regulations, ensuring alignment with international requirements and boosting local market development.
Sorin Dan Moldovan, Chairman of the IT&C Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, highlighted the potential for digital transformation in Romania's insurance industry, emphasizing both the benefits and challenges of this shift for efficiency and accessibility. He also discussed the Parliament's role in developing a legislative framework that supports innovation in the insurance sector through policies that encourage technology adoption while protecting consumers.
Iulius Marian Firczak, Secretary of the Budget, Finance, and Banking Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, spoke about the measures authorities should take to increase financial literacy among Romanians regarding insurance products, focusing on awareness and information initiatives. He also highlighted the impact of digitization in expanding insurance coverage and outlined strategies to grow Romania's insurance market, including simplifying access and improving customer experience.
The topic of insurance deductibility also garnered interest. Speakers noted the importance of tax incentives for life insurance, which could lead to significant growth in this segment of the overall insurance market. Dorel Duță, General Manager of Hobbit Insurance Broker and President of UNSICAR, stressed the need to simplify the purchasing process and the presentation of life insurance products, so that clients can better understand and access them.
Price caps on mandatory insurance policies were another topic of debate. While these caps were seen as beneficial for consumers, speakers called for a closer analysis of their impact on the broader insurance market. Otilia Petrariu, General Manager of Consultant AA and President of PRBAR Academy, reinforced this idea and encouraged open dialogue among key players.
Victor Ponta, former Prime Minister of Romania, addressed questions from the audience about the relationship between local insurance market players and political decision-makers. He also underscored the need for increased public awareness of the benefits of insurance.
New Capabilities of the 24Broker Platform
At the event, Cristian Filimon, Director of the Tomorrow Division at LIFE IS HARD, demonstrated the new capabilities dedicated to insurance brokers: the 24broker.ro portal, a comparison tool for life, RCA, and travel insurance, and the 24Consultant mobile app, part of the 24Broker platform.
Conference attendees had the opportunity to see firsthand how these digital tools could revolutionize the insurance intermediation process, highlighting LIFE IS HARD's commitment to innovation and efficiency in the industry. Further details about these innovations will be provided in a future press release.