WATFORD Insurance Company Europe (WATFORD Insurance) officially launched itself in the Romanian insurance market through an event organized on 17 October in Bucharest, with the participation of its partners and collaborators.

Romanian insurers ended 1H2018 with GWP worth RON 5.04 billion (EUR 1.08 billion), a business volume which in fact demonstrates a quasi-stagnant phase. Gross paid claims amounted to RON 2.08 billion (EUR 602.6 million). Out of the 30 active players, Top 10 insurers accounted for about 88% of the market GWP.

FITCH Ratings has affirmed EUROINS Romania Asigurare Reasigurare SA's (EUROINS Romania) Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating at 'BB-', and EUROHOLD Bulgaria AD's (EUROHOLD, the group's ultimate holding company) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B'. The Outlooks are Stable.

Romania will be next beneficiary of an instrument from the World Bank allowing the country's government to enhance its disaster risk financing support - the Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat DDO). The project is now underway as part of Building Disaster and Climate Resilience Program Project for Romania.

Romanian insurers ended Q1 with GWP worth RON 2.53 billion (EUR 543.2 million), 1.45% less y-o-y. Gross paid claims amounted to RON 1.23 billion (EUR 264 million). Out of the 30 active players, Top 10 insurers accounted for about 89% of the market GWP.

On 28 June the Romanian Government has approved the draft Law on Mutual Insurance Companies, which will be shortly sent to the Parliament for debates and approval.

Starting July 1, 2018, the President of Directorate at position of ASIROM VIG (Romania) will be taken over by Cristian IONESCU. He will replace Mr. Juraj LELKES whose mandate ends on June 30, 2018.

The Romanian insurance market in Romania continued its growth trend in 2017, the local industry totaling RON 9.7 billion (EUR 2.1 billion), 3.5% more than in the previous year.

Among the decisions adopted by the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) Board at its meeting on 7 March 2018, the appointment of Cosmin ANGHELUTA for a new mandate as Deputy General Manager of Gothaer Asigurari Reasigurari was also validated.

Starting January 2018, Cristian FUGACIU, CEO of MARSH Romania is heading the global broker's business in the Central Europe, comprising 7 of the 17 insurance markets that form the CSEE Region (Central & South Eastern Europe).

The most important annual meeting of the Croatian insurers, the "Croatian Insurance Days", started today in Opatija, Croatia.

On November 1st, an Agricultural insurance conference took place in Skopje, Macedonia, organized by the Insurance Supervision Agency in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy. Drawing attention to the necessity of reducing the risks in agriculture by using insurance was the event's main purpose.

Emmanuel DJENGUE, Innovation Director, Europe - RGAX, Spain is the Keynote Speaker at IIF 2018 - Insurance in a DIGITAL WORLD Conference in Bucharest, on November 27.

Becoming a growing threat globally, cyber risks is both a challenge and an opportunity for the insurance industry. MUNICH Re's representatives talked to XPRIMM TV in Baden Baden, about the different approach to this type of risk that the Group, as one of the most active players on the cyber market solutions, proposes.

End investors, Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS) funds, and buyers - the three groups active in ILS - have predominantly weathered 2017 loss activity with a view that reinsurance products backed by 'alternative' capital have become mainstream, according to a new Global ILS Market Survey by Willis Towers Watson.

Swiss Re expects the global reinsurance industry to consolidate as the distinction between insurers and reinsurers become increasingly blurred, an executive from the Swiss Group said in Baden Baden, reports Reuters.

Current market conditions are putting increasing pressure on returns with some companies viewing consolidation as a potential solution, James NASH, CEO of International at Guy Carpenter said in his opening remarks at the Baden-Baden 2018 Reinsurance Meeting hosted by the global risk and reinsurance specialist.

E+S Ruckversicherung AG, the Hannover Re Group's unit handling German business, continues to expect a positive premium development in the German market for the January 2019 renewals, albeit at a somewhat more diminished pace than in 2018.