Insurance company Ardaf, which was taken over at the beginning of 2007 by the Czech financial group PPF, has settled claims worth 50.7 million RON (15 million euros) in the first three months of 2007, 2.8 million-RON more than the amount of gross underwritten premiums handled by the company.
"Their high value can be explained by the fact that overdue cases of settlement claims were resolved during this period. The results were also bolstered by the fact that car insurance dominates the company's portfolio, a type of insurance where settlement claims are frequently conducted," stated Alina Nastase, marketing and public relations manager with Ardaf.
The insurer underwrote gross premiums worth 47.9 million RON (14.2 million euros) in the first quarter of this year, down 39% against the same period in 2006. The decline in underwriting, along with 58% of claims being settled resulted in 28.8 million RON (8.5 million euros) losses for Ardaf in the first three months of 2007.
"The factors behind the drop are linked mainly with the new management team's strategy of altering the company's underwriting policy. We 'cleaned' the portfolio of non-yielding insurance, and decided that underwriting should be based on a prudential approach and on principles of profitability," added Nastase.
After taking over the main stake in Ardaf from businessman Ovidiu Tender, the Czechs at PPF appointed Daniel Tudor as general manager. Founder of the insurance company Roumanie Assurance International (RAI), Tudor took over at Ardaf, after PPF completed the acquisition of RAI this winter.
"For 2007, we are considering strengthening our capital, by performing another share capital increase in order to sustain our operations. We intend to diversify our product portfolio to improve the quality of our sales and post-sale services, and to grow on the life insurance sector," explained Nastase.
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