Insurers paid hundreds of thousands of euros in 2009 for fire insurance policies sealed by companies, as well as for Green Card insurance (auto liability insurance for those who travel abroad). Aviation claims, on the other hand, were not among top-ranking claims in 2009 as opposed to 2008.
Fires, maritime ship damage and bodily injuries as a result of car accidents abroad are the events that generated the biggest claim settlements for insurers, according to a poll sent by ZF to the top ten companies on the general insurance market, and filled in by eight companies.
The biggest claim was settled by Omniasig for a policy covering construction works. The damage amounted to 5 million euros, and was paid as a result of a fire. The second-largest claim stood at almost 1.3 million euros, and was also paid by Omniasig for bodily injuries sustained in a car accident (for an insurance policy sealed by a transporter).
Omniasig is the second largest company on the general insurance market, with 857.8 million RON (around 205 million euros) in gross underwritten premiums, down 7% against the similar period of 2008.
"The biggest claims tend to be generated by fire policies and by aviation policies. In addition, victims of car accidents who suffer bodily injuries increasingly demand to be paid damages, but these claims are not as significant as those in aviation and in fire insurance," says Bogdan Andriescu, president of the National Union of Insurance Brokerage and Consultancies in Romania (UNSICAR).
Insurance companies usually transfer the risk to reinsurance companies in the case of policies sealed for large sums.
"Companies are reinsured, they don't retain such high risks. The big claims are settled over longer periods of time, because there are more than two parties involved, expertisation is conducted. Fire and aviation premiums are are also
