​The Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) last month imposed a wave of fines on Groupama Asigurări, RCA’s new leader after the bankruptcy of Euroins. The authority imposed three fines totaling 340,600 lei for violations in the payment of RCA claims, reporting of external transfers and inventory of the approved claims reserve.

The Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF), led by a new board from 19 December, published on its website on Monday 15 January the fines it has applied over the past month to the 3 sectors it is looking at: scholarships, insurance and private pensions.

In the insurance sector, there are 3 fines applied to the French by Groupama Asigurări, the insurance market leader in Romania, namely:

1. A fine of 115,500 lei for:

• failure to comply with the provisions of Art. 23 par. (5) from Law No. 129/2019 on the prevention and fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as for the introduction of changes and additions to some regulatory acts with further changes and additions confirmed by the provisions of Art. 12 para. (4) from ASF Regulation no. 13/2019;
• failure to comply with the provisions of Art. 24 para. (1) from Law No. 129/2019 in combination with the provisions of paragraph 4. (1), Art. 21 par. (1) and par. (6) and Art. 47 par. (3) and par. (7) from ASF Regulation no. 13/2019;
• failure to comply with the provisions of Art. 25 para. (1) from Law No. 129/2019 in combination with the provisions of paragraph 13. (1) and Art. 47 par. (3) and par. (7) from ASF Regulation no. 13/2019;
• failure to comply with the provisions of Art. 7 para. (3) from Law No. 129/2019 in combination with the provisions of Art. 35 par. (1) from ASF Regulation no. 13/2019 regarding the obligation to report to the N.CPSB on external transfers to and from accounts in lei or foreign currency;
• failure to comply with the provisions of Art. 24 of Law No. 129/2019 in combination with the provisions of Art. 11 paragraph (5) of ASF Regulation no. 13/2019.

2. A fine of 100,700 lei for:

• failure to comply with the provisions of Art. 21 par. (4) and (5) of Law No. 132/2017 on compulsory car civil liability insurance (RCA).

These two provisions state that the insurer must pay the compensation within 10 days from the date of acceptance of the compensation offer or from the date on which it has received a final judgment or consent of the dispute resolution entity regarding the amount of compensation it is obliged to pay.

In the event that the RSA insurer fails to fulfill its obligations within the previously established period or fulfills them with deficiencies, including an unjustified reduction in the amount of compensation or a delay in the payment of compensation, it is obliged to pay a penalty in the amount of 0.2% per day of delay, calculated on the amount the due amount of compensation or the difference in the unpaid amount. Payment of fines is carried out simultaneously with payment of compensation.

3. A fine of 124,400 lei for:

• failure to comply with the provisions of Art. 4 para. (2) lit. d) the last sentence of ASF Regulation no. 2/2016 on the application of the principles of corporate management of entities authorized, regulated and controlled by the Financial Supervisory Authority, with further amendments and additions, in the sense that in connection with the requirements provided for in Art. 2 para. (2), Art. 21 par. (3), Art. 25 para. (1), Art. 30 par. (1) and par. (4) and Art. 31 par. (3) from ASF norm no. 32/2015 regarding the organization and conduct of inventory of assets, liabilities, capital and operations regarding insurance and reinsurance activities of insurers/reinsurers and insurance/reinsurance brokers, internal control mechanisms in the company regarding the inventory process of the approved damage stock was not sufficient.

The two insurers have more than 45% of RCA’s revenues, despite the bankruptcy of Euroins

The degree of concentration in the RCA market remained at a high level in the first half of last year, with Groupama and Allianz-Țiriac accumulating 45.6% of revenue, and Euroins, which remained without a license in March, had 14.1%, according to ASF data.

In the entire market as a whole, on June 30, 2023, the first average RCA was 1,190 lei, which is 3% more than in the same semester last year.

On June 30, 2023, there were six insurers authorized by the ASF for RCA insurance activities operating on the insurance market: Allianz-Ţiriac, Asirom VIG, Generali, Grawe, Groupama and Omniasig VIG.

On the RCA market in Romania, there are two branches operating by right of foundation: Axeria IARD and Hellas Direct.

The Axeria Iard branch started operations in the RCA market during the fourth quarter of 2021 and recorded a volume of gross premiums written for RCA of approximately 339 million lei in the first six months of 2023, representing 7.3% of total premiums written. for this segment.

The parliament voted for a new ASF leadership led by Alexandru Petrescu

The new leadership of the Financial Supervision Authority (ASF), headed by Alexandru Petrescu, was elected by the Parliament on the evening of December 19, 2023, with the votes of PNL and PSD for a 5-year mandate.

The appointments were criticized by the USR and AUR, which complained of the “16 ridiculous salaries” being paid in “the state’s most lucrative sinecure”, while authorities watched RCA’s major bankruptcies drive up prices.

• read: The Parliament voted for the new management of ASF headed by Alexandru Petrescu / USR: “The most profitable sinecure of the state” / AUR: “Inventors of the year for 16 months”