“Last week, I discussed with Niko Marku, the president of ASF, that the control at Euroins should be completed and on Thursday, I was informed, the conclusions of the control report will be presented,” Prime Minister Nicolae Chuke said on Wednesday. , before the start of the Government meeting.

• “The conclusions are that Euroins has a fairly stable market share and a solution needs to be found at ASF level so that if it does become insolvent, that market share can be taken over because there are a lot of people and transport companies that will suffer
• RCA’s price cap is a hypothesis that is under analysis, only that this cap may occur for a certain period of time to be determined by experts.” This was announced by Prime Minister Nikolay Chuke on Wednesday.

According to HotNews.ro sources, a meeting of the Financial Supervisory Board will be held today, where a report on the control of Euroins, which has hundreds of pages, will be presented. If the decision is not made today, then tomorrow. Decisions will first be sent to Euroins and then communicated to the public.

At the end of 2022, Euroins had 2.8 million RCA contracts, i.e. 39% of the entire RCA market.

Bulgarian press: Iohannis and Radev should talk about the Euroins crisis

The crisis faced by the insurance company Euroins in the Romanian market threatens to destabilize the entire insurance sector in the country, as well as the Bulgarian capital market, and this topic may be on the agenda of discussions between President Klaus Iohannis, who is on a visit to Sofia, on Wednesday, and his Bulgarian colleague Rumen Radev, writes the Bulgarian economic publication “Financial Tribune”, in an article criticizing the actions of the ASF, News.ro informs.

Euroins is part of Eurohold, one of the largest players in the Bulgarian economy and a leading energy and financial group in South-Eastern Europe with revenues and assets of several billion dollars and more than 7,000 employees.

Eurohold also includes EIG Re EAD, a company with a 20-year history, whose reinsurance services are used by leading European insurance companies.

Recently, EIG Re reinsured the entire portfolio of Euroins in Romania, which guaranteed payment of all compensations to the Romanian company and ensured the transfer of all risks, the Bulgarian publication explains.

• “The problem is that the ASF, the insurance market regulatory body in Romania, the analogue of the FSC in Bulgaria, raised in the Romanian press the question of the financial capacity of EIG Re, which led to speculation about the bankruptcy of Euroins in Romania. , and this could have devastating consequences for the entire group, which is listed on the stock exchanges in Sofia and Warsaw, and could destabilize the entire insurance sector in Romania, as well as the capital market in Bulgaria, in which Euroins invests as a large institutional investor,” writes Financial Tribune.

Bulgarian journalists charge that the estimates published by the ASF are problematic because “they are not based on anything in reality and are completely unfounded, given that the results of three important audits currently being carried out by the ASF, the EU financial regulator and the European Bank for Reconstruction and development (EBRD) – will not be announced until the end of March.”

The first and most important argument is that “according to European legislation, it is not within the competence of the Romanian regulatory authority ASF to comment on the financial situation of a Bulgarian insurance or reinsurance company. ASF dared to judge and give evaluations to a Bulgarian company to the Romanian press, clearly exceeding its authority,” writes the Financial Tribune.

The Bulgarian publication claims that the press and analysts in Romania are paying attention to the fact that “it is important that President Iohannis is well informed by his advisers regarding this scandal, because any assessment, comment or inappropriate qualification regarding the activities of the company outside of Romania, which without ASF control, it could cause great damage to the country’s image, destabilize the markets of both countries and affect good neighborly relations with Bulgaria.

The financial stability of EIG Re and Eurohold is a matter that belongs to the Bulgarian regulatory body FSC, as well as the European EIOPA, the Romanian newspapers summarize and remind,” reports the Financial Tribune.

Euroins, the Bulgarian publication also writes, informed EIOPA about the inappropriate behavior of ASF officials in relation to the Bulgarian company and demanded an independent audit of these actions. The European body intervened and started such an audit. The results are expected to be released in a few days.

In this context, Eurohold’s other majority shareholder, EBRD (10%), has initiated an audit of Euroins Romania, which should also be completed by the end of March.

The ASF made public comments that could deeply affect the image of the dual-listed group before receiving official information on the financial condition of EIG Re, which the Romanian regulator requested from the FSC, the Bulgarian counterpart – the Bulgarian side accuses. On the other hand, if the Romanian authorities believe that the FSC’s assessment is biased, the ASF has the possibility to refer to EIOPA arbitration. However, if the ASF confirms the financial capacity of EIG Re to reinsure Euroins, the solvency of the Bulgarian company will be restored and it will be able to continue its activities on the Romanian market, notes “Financial Tribune”.

“Eurohold”: “Euroins Romania” recently consolidated its financial position outside the requirements of the law

In the context of the scandal caused by the increase in RCA base rates, the statements of PSD leader Marcel Cholaku about the possible new bankruptcy of RCA and the concerns expressed by the government, which is awaiting the results of the control launched by the ASF on the solvency of Euroins, the Bulgarian group Eurohold reacted, stressing that it “recently consolidated the financial state” of Euroins Romania outside the requirements of the law.

Bulgarian group Eurohold, owner of Euroins Insurance Group (EIG), announced on Friday “in light of recent claims and speculation in the public space that it has recently strengthened the financial condition of Euroins Romania, a division of EIG, which now has an SCR report (Cerința de Solvency Capital) 160% and MCR (minimum capital) 300%”.

Eurohold Group has released new details of the reinsurance contract signed by Euroins Romania with EIG Re, the reinsurer of Euroins Insurance Group (EIG), saying “the total value of the reinsured risk transferred to EIG Re is 1.5 billion lei (over €300 million)”.

RCA price caps may actually mean higher prices for some drivers / What are the current prices in Bucharest compared to other cities

The RCA price cap imposed by the ASF in the scandal caused by the new reference rate increase could be expensive for many drivers, especially those from cities other than Bucharest, for which there are insurers selling RCA below the non-mandatory reference rates binding, and are indicative.

In the midst of the scandal caused by RCA’s new reference rate hikes, the Financial Conduct Authority (ASF) offered very little explanation, contenting itself with publishing a comparative price chart on its website, stating that “these reference rates are not sale prices and that they have grown by 16.28% over the past 6 months.”

To further calm the mood, ASF spokesperson Daniel Apostol briefly stated that: “to protect consumers, ASF is considering capping RCA prices.”

RCA’s price cap would not be the first in Romania. A similar measure was adopted in 2016 by the Cholos government for a period of 6 months. Insurers sued the government, and Romania launched an infringement case with the European Commission.

• Will RCA’s new maximum price be beneficial or not for insurers?

HotNews.ro analyzed the final RCA prices compared to the new reference rates announced by the ASF to see how it might affect policyholders.

Given that the indicative rates announced by the ASF are valid for drivers belonging to the B0 class, HotNews.ro asked insurance brokers to provide additional simulations of RCA offers for this category.

This is evidenced by the data in Bucharest, final RCA prices are higher than reference prices both for individuals and legal entities of class B0.

In the rest of the cities, the final RCA prices may be lower or even higher than the base, given that insurers also take into account their own indicators when setting these prices.

In Bucharest, RCA prices are usually higher than in other areas, given that many of the damages are caused by car owners living in the capital.

As you know, Euroins has reduced its influence on RCA since last year and avoids Bucharest drivers in particular in order not to accumulate further losses, which is why it practices the highest prices on RCA in the capital.

• Read more: RCA price caps could actually mean higher prices for some drivers / What are the current prices in Bucharest compared to other cities