OREANDA-NEWS. Ingosstrakh Insurance Company held its eighth annual seminar for journalists entitled "Current Issues of Insurance Market Development". The seminar held in the Moscow office of the insurance company was attended by journalists from St. Petersburg, Samara, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Barnaul, Tyumen, Vladivostok. Some representatives of the federal mass media were also present at the seminar.

It has been the fourth time that Ingosstrakh Insurance Company webcasts the seminar, making it accessible all over the world, from any time zone. The viewers watching the webcast had the opportunity not only to follow the event in real time mode, but also to ask questions to the speakers and get answers promptly, on equal terms with those who were attending in person.

The speakers at the event included Igor Yurgens, president of the All-Russian Union of Insurers, Pavel Bunin, president of the Russian Union of Auto Insurers, Andrey Yuriev, president of the National Union of Liability Insurers, Pavel Samiev, Director General of the RA Expert rating agency, Mikhail Volkov, CEO of Ingosstrakh Insurance Company, Irina Turina, press Secretary of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, Igor Yamov, Deputy CEO of Ingosstrakh Insurance Company , Tatiana Kaygorodova, Alexey Galakhov, as well as the heads of the company's departments and administrations.

The journalists, who represented business and socio-political media, discussed the current state and the development prospects of the insurance market with the experts, in particular, the major trends and issues involved in motor vehicle insurance in 2014 and the prospects of the sector for 2015, new risks in the context of price competition, problems in the relationships between tourism and insurance industry in connection with the challenges in the tourism industry, the development of the health insurance system, and many other issues.

"We see that a number of insurance companies are expecting their future prospects and opportunities to be better than the general market trends. This can be a dangerous misconception, because insurance depends on the macroeconomics of the country, which is now exposed to crisis factors," said Mikhail Volkov, CEO of Ingosstrakh Insurance Company, at the webinar. "If you look at the forecasts of car sales, as well as those for the tourist market and the manufacturing sector, you can see that the situation is disappointing. And it will surely have a significant impact on the insurance industry. Apart from life insurance, we believe that the insurance market will fall in 2015 if we make adjustments for inflation, which might lead to misrepresentation of the actual growth values. Moreover, we have to keep in mind that the insurance market is not homogeneous and certain segments are to experience more significant decline than the others. Thus, we expect 14 % decline in CASCO vehicle insurance against damage and theft by the end of next year. The combined ratios, which exceed 100 % in case of many players in the market, will continue to grow. 2015 could become one of the most difficult years for the insurance market," Mikhail Volkov said.

Educational seminar on Current Issues of Insurance Market Development has been held by Ingosstrakh Insurance Company since 2005. It has already become a traditional event that is anticipated by regional and national journalists. The main objective of the workshop is bringing insurance culture to the population by educating journalists about the main trends, problems, and prospects of the insurance industry. The seminar is traditionally held at the end of the year. The representatives of the federal and regional media, which provided extended and objective coverage of the major events in the insurance market, are invited to participate.