OREANDA-NEWS. November 27, 2009. In 1947 the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted Regulation № 3819-1281с "On Establishment of the Foreign Insurance Office of the USSR (Ingosstrakh) on the basis of the Foreign Operations Office (UINO) of Gosstrakh of the USSR". This day is considered to be the foundation day of the insurance company. Over the period Ingosstrakh has grown from a small department within the Ministry of Finance of the USSR into a major Russian insurance company with an extended regional network.

Today Ingosstrakh is a federal level universal insurer and a leader of the domestic insurance market both by insurance cover volumes and key balance sheet figures.

In 1948 Ingosstrakh operated only five types of insurance operations, now the company is authorized to extend all types of insurance services (with a view to underwriting specialization) provided in Article 32.9 of the RF Law on Insurance in the Russian Federation, and reinsurance services.

In July 2009 Standard & Poor`s international rating agency confirmed long-term counterparty and financial sustainability credit ratings of Ingosstrakh IJSC at BBB- level negative outlook, reflecting higher industry and country risks, and also confirmed the national scale rating of the company at ruAA+ level. Russian rating agency Expert RA confirmed its reliability rating for Ingosstrakh at А++ level "Exceptionally High Level of Reliability". The company was for the first time rated at А++ level in 2002.

At present Ingosstrakh services reach out throughout Russia via its extended regional network; the corporate offices operate in 220 Russian cities. Service levels are a major focus for Ingosstrakh. Regional policy of the company is to provide its customers with top-quality insurance services across the territory of the Russian Federation.

Ingosstrakh holds stakes in companies operating in CIS and non-CIS countries. International insurance group INGO has nine companies operating abroad and six companies in Russian territory. Six representative offices of the insurer operate in CIS and non-CIS countries: in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, India and China.

Over the years of business the company has made four record-high indemnity payments. Ingosstrakh paid over USD 56 million after the air plane crash in Irkutsk (1997), over USD 85 million on CB RF Coupon satellite destruction (1998); USD 75 million to PROTEC Development Center due to a major fire outbreak at a warehouse of the pharmaceuticals distributor in Moscow on May 14, 2006, over RUB 1 billion for partial loss of Ekspress-AM2 space vehicle (2009).

At present Ingosstrakh is participating in settlement of an insurance claim on A-330 Air France airplane crash, which flew on June 1, 2009 from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) to Paris (France). Moreover, Ingosstrakh is the only Russian insurance company to participate in payments for the losses, related to the tragedy of September 11, 2001 in the USA. The total payments under the re-insurance contract amounted to over USD 1 695 000.

Alexander Grigoriev, Ingosstrakh IJSC General Director, said that "today, in the times of the crisis, our key objective is to accurately meet our obligations by paying insurance indemnity in full volume and retain trust of our customers. Ingosstrakh insures major industrial enterprises, organizations, participating in foreign trade business, transportation and sales companies, banks, representative offices of transnational corporations etc. Most of them have been cooperating with the insurance company over many years. There is another objective that is no less important – keeping true professionals of the insurance business with the company. Both yesterday and today it is people that make the company strong; the employees of the company are its Golden Portfolio we can be proud of ".

Over the latest years Ingosstrakh has been actively developing its retail insurance business. Ingosstrakh is the undisputed leader in the Russian car insurance market and travel insurance, the company has leading positions in private property insurance. Major success has been achieved in the area of voluntary medical insurance. Over three years the company has been implementing a project for development of its own network of medical treatment facilities. "Bud Zdorov" (Be Healthy) clinics operate in Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and Saratov. Despite the crisis, a children health center and a polyclinic for adults are to open in Moscow in 2010. Furthermore, it is planned to open clinics in Krasnodar, Kazan, Ufa and Novosibirsk. All in all, completion of the project will provide the insurance company with 24 operational clinics in Russia.

Ingosstrakh performance has been marked with many prizes and awards. In June 2009 the company won a "Russian Financial Elite" award in "Grand Prix: Insurance Company of the Year" nomination. In May 2009 Ingosstrakh won a "Golden Salamander" award in the major nomination "Insurance Company 2008" and in "Transparent Company of the Year ". In 2008 the company was awarded a prize in "Insurance Services Quality 2007" nomination. In April 2009 Ingosstrakh won a "Financial Olympus - 2008" award. In April 2008 the company won an award in BRAND OF THE YEAR/EFFIE 2007 competition, later that summer - "Nation’s Glory " award and a diploma in the golden category, in December the company won a national business prize "Company of the Year " and "Business Atlantes 2008" award. Ingosstrakh is the only Russian insurance company to stay on the rating of the most valuable Russian brands for four consecutive years. The company has also won the "Transparency" nomination of "Expert – 400" rating for four years in a row.  Moreover, Ingosstrakh won "The Most Transparent Insurance Company in Russia" (Platinum Diploma) award by Financial Press-Club and "Russian Financial Elite" prize in "The Most Reliable Insurance Company" nomination.