Currently, eight companies are fighting it out on the market of unit-linked insurance, where the number of customers that hold such policies is estimated at half a million.

Unit-linked insurance will account for 10% in the turnover of Grawe Asigurari de Viata this year and in 2009 their contribution to gross underwritten premiums will rise to 30% forecasts the company's general manager, Peter Kasyk.

Grawe started to sell unit-linked insurance last month, when it launched two products - Grawe Apollo (in euros) and Grawe GaliLEI (in RON).

Unit-linked insurance policies are life policies tied to investment funds, with the largest part of premiums paid by the insured persons being placed in these funds.

Customers are the ones that assume the risks of such investments, which can bring them both profits and losses. Usually, unit-linked policies are profitable investments on the long term. "This year, we target a normal increase in gross underwritten premiums of around 20%. Unit-linked insurance will account for 10% in sales and rise to 30% next year, which means around 50,000 contracts. Unit-linked policies are currently being seriously hurt by the trend of economy, we need not look any further than the stock exchange," says Kasyk.

In the first five months of this year, the around 40 funds' unit-linked policies were tied to posted yields that ranged between -22% and 8%, after half of funds posted negative performances since the start of the year due to the turmoil on international financial markets.

Companies Allianz-Tiriac, Interamerican, ING Asigurari, Aviva, KD Life, AIG Life, Generali and recently Grawe are competing on the unit-linked insurance market.

Grawe is one of the top five players on the life insurance market, with turnover worth 30.4m euros last year, up 66%, and net income worth 2.4m euros, double the level reached i