The largest Polish insurer, PZU, is interested in the Romanian market and has sent a team to Bucharest this week to gather information and assess investment opportunities.
"This is our first time in Bucharest, where we are gathering information about the market. PZU has not made a decision about Romania yet, but is potentially interested in this country's life insurance industry," company sources told Ziarul Financiar.
PZU is Poland's largest insurance company, with turnover worth more than 3 billion euros. PZU is much larger than any company operating on the Romanian insurance market. The entire Romanian insurance market has yet to reach one billion euros, as estimates for last year value point to about 660 million euros.
The Romanian life insurance market (gross premiums underwritten) grew to 178 million euros in 2003, 26% higher year-on-year. Sales of life insurance polices were ten times higher last year as compared to 1998, as big international players have entered the market. The life insurance market is one of the segments large international companies most fiercely fight for. Players on this market include important names of the US or Western Europe insurance industry. Most of these companies have entered the market particularly targeting private pension funds that will be launched over the following years.
PZU is 55% held by the state and 30% by a consortium made up of the pan-European group Eureko (owning a 28% stake) and by Poland's Bank Millenium. The company will be shortly floated on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Eureko controls Greek company Interamerican, which is present in Romania.
razvan.voican@zf.ro ; sorin.pislaru@zf.ro
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