There is a tendency to withdraw from insurance business, both on the foreign investors side and on domestic owned companies. In case of the national companies the trend  is more connected with obvious or provoked bankruptcies, while for foreign investors turning off Ukrainian business was caused by the high level of sovereign risk, low rates of economic recovery, insignificant (or even negative) return on capital, etc.

Deeper financial integration will need to be accompanied by increased convergence of supervisory outcomes across the EU and necessary adjustments to strengthen the supervisory framework in order to ensure that the capacity to supervise and manage risks keeps pace, in particular in cross-border and critical areas.

Slowing economic growth, continued pressure on pricing, emerging risks (e.g. Cyber hacking) and regulatory changes such as Solvency II in Europe, C-ROSS in China, IRDA in India, and new South African regulations are some of the main challenges we face. Understanding the challenges of reinsurance activity in the CEE also means understanding what stakeholders perceive, what they want, and meeting these expectations. 

The supervisory authority pays attention to the process of automation, digitizing, the creation of databases and on-line services in order to improve the quality of customer service and, last but not least the reduction of the level of fraud not only among unscrupulous customers, but also in the case of insurance agents. A similar database has already been created for the MTPL segment and it will be useful for insurers to promote the voluntary types of insurance.

We expect that 2017 will be a better year towards the performance and expansion of the insurance market, the increasing of transparency and trust of the consumers, the fostering and diversification of insurance products, as well as towards the strengthening of inter-institutional cooperation, to promote exchange of experiences in terms of the regulation and stabilization of the market.

In 2016, we have seen a progress on the health insurance line, which is a relatively new insurance product in Macedonia, with modest beginnings in 2013. Last year also brought a boom in unit-linked insurance, also a product only existing in the market since 2015.

We have no interest to be number 1 in Romania in a mid-term, neither on life nor non-life sectors, and that's not our target. I want us to be a profitable company and the best choice for brokers. That's our target: to be the best in class. 

Young buyers don't care if the insurance company has been in business for a hundred years. They don't care if the company has a multibillion dollar balance sheet or not. They are spoiled by an entirely different level of customer experience. People who buy products from Apple or people who go to Starbucks have a different expectation of what they get for the money they spend. They want something different, they want something better. And it's hard for legacy companies to adjust. It's hard from the change of computer systems, it's hard from the change of their attitudes ... but however, traditional carriers will have to adjust in the future so it is tough for legacy companies.

EUROINS Insurance Group operates in 7 European countries and is a well-recognized brand in 4 of them: Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia and the Ukraine. Our market share in Romania is almost 15%, in Bulgaria - about 7% and in Macedonia - 9%. As part of its international growth, EIG will expand its operations further within the CEE and SEE countries and continue to consolidate its position in the region and to develop itself as the leading independent insurance group in the region.

We work in a business which is arguably one of the more exciting ones at this moment in time. It really does have everything to play for and is in the midst of some pretty fundamental changes.
Telematics has been and will continue to be a game-changer. This trend is now expanding with demotics, which is capturing the so-called 'Internet of Things' within home connectivity. It's an interesting area in rapid development.

Our strategy remains unchanged - we want to focus our efforts on the non-motor segment, which ensures our stability, and we want to increase the retail business in our portfolio. However, in a market dominated by motor insurance, you must also take this segment into account. Generali Romania is growing on motor while carefully monitoring profitability indicators.

Most probably, the Russian insurance market will increase by 5-7% in 2016. The main market drivers for 2016 will be the non-credit life insurance and MTPL. Compared with the results of the 1st quarter of 2016 there was a slight revival of corporate property insurance segments, accident and liability insurance. But in fact all business segments, except for life insurance and MTPL, begin to stagnate and probably soon will move into a phase of recession.

Turkish market remains to be our major operating market and MILLI Re aims to continue its leadership of the market. On the other hand, as part of the strategy of transforming from a local reinsurance leader into an international player, MILLI Re has actively engaged in accepting business from emerging markets including Middle East, Asia, Northern and Continental Africa, CIS and Eastern Europe as well as from some developed markets such as Continental Europe and Lloyd's

The MTPL market still hasn't reached the equilibrium point as it is expected a rise in the gross premium volume during the next years. This rise can be driven by many factors such as: the number of uninsured cars, which is still high, the difference of average premium between Albania and the region, the collaboration of AFSA with the universities in promoting the insurance sector.

Client orientation is one of the strategic key elements for us. We have launched a series of internal initiatives that place the interests and needs of the client in the centre of all our activities. In addition, we have to be more flexible in the way we adapt our own organization to special client segments. Operational excellence and efficiency are other key elements in this respect.

It is highly likely that in some markets the insurance sector will have to be further consolidated, since the present structure is too fragmented. As a consequence of the already implemented and the upcoming legislative changes in the medium term, a certain impact can be expected on the ability of the insurance industry as a whole, and especially of some individual players in terms of underwriting.

Insurance market has a strong solvency ratio indicating a high level of capital adequacy and stability, which we expect will be the case in the following period. Positive premium dynamics in H1 2016 are an encouraging sign to expect a successful year, especially in the life segment as the more dynamic part of the market.

The Russian Federation has created its own specialized reinsurer - the National Reinsurance Company (NRC), effectively from October 12th, 2016. The main goals of the company are to offer additional capacity for the Russian market (including sanctioned risks) and also to cover Nat Cat perils for consumers. The law stipulates also that local insurers/reinsurers must offer 10% quota of the risks to the NRC.

Despite all the cliches saying that the "price should not be the first criteria when buying insurance", the price is one of the most determining factors from a customer's pint of view. I think instead of criticizing this behavior, we must accept and internalize this natural fact. All sales channels are steering their customers for the best price.

Following the implementation of Solvency II, TRIGLAV Group will continue to strengthen its position in the Adria region and to develop as the insurance hub of South-East Europe through organic growth and potential takeovers, should an appropriate opportunity arise.