Market Guide: Life Insurance and Pensions in Bulgaria 2006

Table of Contents

• Overview
  • Catalyst
  • Summary
• Executive Summary
  • Following compound annual growth of 9.9% in the last five years, between 2006 and 2010, growth in the Bulgarian life and pensions market is set to increase to 23.3%
    • The Bulgarian life and pensions market expanded by a compound annual rate of 9.9% between 2002 and 2006
    • Life insurance will continue to dominate the market
    • The Bulgarian market will be shaped by its 2007 accession to the EU
    • The market is led by foreign subsidiaries
    • 4 out of 5 life insurance market leaders in Bulgaria are subsidiaries of foreign companies
• Table of Contents
• Table of figures
• Table of tables
• MARKET OVERVIEW
  • The Bulgarian life and pensions market expanded by a compound annual rate of 9.9% between 2002 and 2006
    • The Bulgarian life and pensions market experienced compound annual growth of 9.9% between 2002 and 2006
    • After a sharp fall in 2003, the proportion of premium income from non-unit-linked policies has been increasing steadily
• MARKET FORECASTS
  • Although pensions looks set to grow marginally faster in the next 5 years, life insurance will continue to dominate the market
    • Over the next 5 years, premium income is set to grow at a compound annual rate of 23.3%
• MARKET REGULATION
  • The Bulgarian market will be shaped by its 2007 accession to the EU
    • The Bulgarian National Bank has little impact on the life insurance and pensions sector
    • The National Social Security Institute has ultimate control over Bulgarian pensions regulation
    • The Financial Supervision Commission supervises all non-banking financial institutions in Bulgaria
    • Bulgaria is shaping its policies towards the EU standard
    • Bulgaria is attempting to standardize its pensions system but it retains differences to other countries
      • Bulgaria is adopting EU pensions directives where possible
    • Bulgaria recently developed a new Social Insurance Code
      • Recent amendments to the Social Insurance Code have been made to align Bulgaria' s insurance market with the EU
    • Bulgaria has joined the European Insurance Federation
    • Proposed anti-money laundering legislation is being considered in the Bulgarian Assembly
    • Bulgaria plans to fully adopt all EU legislation by December 2007
• COMPETITIVE MARKET STRUCTURE
  • The market is led by foreign subsidiaries
    • The total Bulgarian insurance market is dominated by foreign providers
    • The top 5 life and pensions insurers control over three-quarters of the market by gross premium income
• MARKET LEADERS
  • 4 out of 5 life insurance market leaders in Bulgaria are subsidiaries of foreign companies
    • DZI is the life insurance market leader based on 2006 premium income
    • Allianz is a close competitor of DZI
    • Generali Bulgaria is the third largest life insurance player in Bulgaria
    • AIG Life Bulgaria ranks fourth among life insurance companies
    • UNIQA Life Bulgaria rounds out the top 5 life insurers
• APPENDIX
  • Definitions
    • Capital redemption policy / bond
    • Composite insurer
    • Defined contribution pension scheme
    • Defined benefits pension scheme
    • Group policy
    • Individual pension scheme
    • Individual policy
    • Life assurance
    • Occupational pension scheme
    • Pension insurance policy
    • Premium income
    • Regular premium
    • Single premium
    • Technical provisions
    • Traditional insurance
    • Unit-linked insurance
  • Further reading
    • Interactive Databases
    • Reports and Briefs
  • Ask the analyst
  • Datamonitor consulting
  • Disclaimer
  • List of Tables
    • Table 1: Life and pensions insurance premium income, segmented by product, EURm, 2002-2006
    • Table 2: Life and pensions insurance premium income, segmented by product, in percentages, 2002-2006
    • Table 3: Life and pensions insurance premium income, segmented by investment risk, EURm, 2001-2005
    • Table 4: Life and pensions insurance premium income, segmented by investment risk, in percentages
    • Table 5: Life and pensions insurance premium income, segmented by product, EURm, 2006-2010
    • Table 6: Life and pensions insurance premium income, segmented by product, in percentages, 2006-2010
    • Table 7: Number of life insurance providers segmented by type, as at Dec 2005
    • Table 8: Top 5 life and pensions insurers by premium income, as at Dec 2005
  • List of Figures
    • Figure 1: Life premiums accounted for almost 90% of total premium income in 2006
    • Figure 2: In the last 5 years, growth in premium income from unit-linked insurance has been quadruple that of non-unit linked growth
    • Figure 3: Life premiums will continue to account for around 90% of premium income up till 2010
    • Figure 4: Foreign subsidiaries accounted for two thirds of the market in 2005
    • Figure 5: DZI leads the Bulgarian life and pensions market