Sogaz: Number of Russian insurers may fall to 100 by 2019

MOSCOW, Apr 20 (PRIME) -- The number of Russian insurance companies may decrease to 100 by 2019 from the current 305, insurance group Sogaz’s First Deputy CEO Nikolai Galushin told PRIME on Wednesday.

“The process of cleaning the market from shady and financially unstable companies will continue… Under experts’ estimates, the number of players on the Russian insurance market can fall almost three times over the next three years,” Galushin said.

He said the number of insurance companies in Russia fell to 305 as of March 2016 from 391 as of January 2015.

A number of companies will leave the market due tightened requirements for transparency and financial solvency set by regulatory bodies, he said.

The central bank’s Chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina said Tuesday the regulator is currently tightening regulation and oversight of insurance companies and the number of insurers in Russia may contract significantly already by the end of 2016.

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