Russia’s insurers are too driven by the motor market – S&P Emerging Market Insurance Forum
Russia's insurance industry is overly dependent on motoring, creating problems as the market goes into decline, according to research from Standard & Poor's (S&P).
At an emerging market forum hosted by the ratings agency this evening, the audience were told that motor hull was responsible for 22 per cent of insurance premiums in 2014, more than any other sector of the market.
However, new car sales in Russia have fallen over recent years and are expected to decline a further 35 to 40 per cent in 2015.
Speaking to City PM after the event, Victor Nikolskiy, associate director at S&P, explained:"First of all, the car prices went up significantly and that was down to foreign exchange changes. So the price went up and people stopped buying. Then, disposable income went down and Russian banks are less inclined to lend. For these reasons, you won't have a lot of new car sales."