OREANDA-NEWS. On 13 August 2009 was announced, that the amount of incoming reinsurance premium received by SOGAZ Insurance Group in the first half of 2009 came to RUR 728.7 million, which exceeds the amount collected over the same period of the previous year by 35% (RUR 538.9 million). The increase is conditioned by the strengthening positions of SOGAZ as an international reinsurer, the Group’s entrance to new markets of Europe, Asia and Latin America, its participation in major international projects implemented by key corporate clients of the Group. The main share of the reinsurance premium was received under risk reinsurance agreements signed with petrochemical enterprises, CAR/EAR in construction of automobile roads and infrastructure, reinsurance of electric power assets, aircraft fleet of major airline companies, as well as drilling works in the territory of the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, and Vietnam. According to Korney Bizhdov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of SOGAZ Insurance Group, SOGAZ will be trying to achieve all the projected incoming reinsurance figures, at the same time keeping the amounts of insurance compensation close to the level of the previous year. ‘During the first half of the year the market saw an emerging tendency towards reduction in the amount of risk sharing, because some companies attempt to single-handedly manage these risk to optimize their costs, – says Korney Bizhdov. – Besides, the dropping of the insurance and, as a result, reinsurance rates also attracts our attention. This fact provokes concern of the insurance companies that adhere to a balanced underwriting policy. Recently, the number of cases when SOGAZ refuses to provide reinsurance coverage has significantly increased’.

It can be recalled that the decision to develop reinsurance business as one of the strategic goals of SOGAZ was made by the Group management in the middle of 2007. The total amount of incoming reinsurance premium received by SOGAZ in 2007 came to RUR 453.4 million, and in 2008 – RUR 1.25 billion.