One of the major challenges was definitely preparation for the new law on MTPL which will be partially in force from October 1st this year and fully in force from January 1st 2015.

According to EUROPA Re, an earthquake with a probability of occurrence once in 500 years could cause in a country like Albania damages around EUR 3.5 billion, out of which EUR 2 billion could be the bill to the households.

As expected, the decline in gross written premium is still noticeable and we can expect this trend till the end of this year. This is the result of negative economic growth and unfavorable economic environment in the country.

At the traditional Baden-Baden XPRIMM Reception Event, Dmitry GARMASH, Head of Moscow Representative Office of BARENTS Re, Inc. related for www.xprimm.com the main features of the BARENTS Re strategy for the forthcoming period and the main advantages offered to business partners. This year, BARENTS Re supported the 6th Edition of XPRIMM's Baden -Baden Reception as an Official Partner.

We expect 2014 to end with a GWP growth, i.e. we expect the growth seen in the first half of the year to continue until the end of the year. The life insurance segment will keep up its dynamic two-digit growth, but also the non-life insurance segment is expected to maintain its positive growth by the end of the year, with a slower growth rate compared to the growth achieved in the first half of 2014.

The Turkish Natural Catastrophe Insurance Pool (DASK) has become one the most renowned insurance brands on the Turkish market. High brand recognition and increasing earthquake insurance awareness in society gives leverage to take up rate in earthquake insurance.

Profitability is, for us, the biggest hurdle on the Turkish market. It is hard to find, at the moment lines of business with "big pockets of profitability". Most of the premiums come from motor insurance, which, again, is common for the emerging markets, but it is also a loss producing line of business.

Turkey has played an important role in Munich Re's priorities for many years now and is already the sixth-placed country in our portfolio in terms of the capacity we provide for natural disasters. It is also a growing market, both on the primary insurance side, and on the reinsurance side, which indicates its great potential.

The system of voluntary health insurance, as an addition to the state system of social guarantees, would be a reliable economic mechanism directed to reducing budget expenses, because the voluntary health insurance is one of the financing sources of the health system.

The compulsory MTPL insurance, that will be introduced in Georgia in 2015, helps to protect the population and prepares the Georgian legislation on insurance to get closer to the relevant EU legislation.

The most challenging issues for the insurers, during the whole of 2014, are considered to be the legal issues. Regarding this matter, the CBK is in the process of reviewing the insurance regulatory framework, where as part of it the General Insurance Law was recently drafted and submitted to the Kosovo Assembly for approval.

In 2013 the market growth was negative for the first time in the last two decades. It was the first time since 2008 that premiums have fallen under EUR 2 billion. This is the result of the crisis in the Slovenian economy, which has been already lasting for the last five years.

The insurance business in 2014 will depend on the stability of prices in the MTPL portfolio. If the current prices will be maintained, the market will experience a considerable growth by the end of 2014.

The business of insurance companies is a long-term business. We work with forecasts and rely on assumptions that might or might not become true in the future. To help us make sound business decisions a stable political and regulatory environment is essential. People buy P&C insurance today to prevent a potential loss in the future. The business of life insurance is a business where one makes a decision today that will pay off only in 20 or 30 years.

The solvency of insurance companies slightly decreased in 2013. The main reason for this decrease could be found in the value depreciation of the long term securities, which affected the asset portfolios of insurance companies. The period of low interest rates has continued on the financial markets and it could have a significant impact on the insurance companies as they guarantee the minimal yields in the classical life policies.

There is a fresh trend in the market, with voluntary insurance becoming the main growth driver. Thus we expect a 10 - 15% increase of the market this year, with a high dynamic on the life insurance segment for which the market trends indicate high rates of public interest.

This year, for the first time we are expecting that the insurance companies will offer voluntary health insurance. It has a great development potential on the insurance market, much to the satisfaction of the citizens, and the insurance companies as well.

The first quarter of 2014 shows that the insurance sector begun to register positive results. It is the highest growth in the last 5 years and hopefully it shall continue till the end of the year.

My belief is that the markets where the TRIGLAV Group is present are among the most promising in terms of the future development of the insurance premium. Because of the extreme growth potential, the profitability of these markets is more challenging since market participants expect substantial growth in the future and their business models have been adjusted to include these expectations.

Within Europe one out of every ten claims is fraudulent. In certain regions, such as CEE including SEE and CIS, this threat is at least three times the European average. So what does this mean for the insurance companies? In a word: loss.