Russia offers a variety of insurance types, allowing any individual or business to find a policy tailored to their needs. In a survey from 2023, consumers revealed that the most commonly owned type of insurance policy in Russia was health insurance, followed by car and life insurance. Even though the number of insurance companies has been following a negative trend over the past years, the Russian insurance industry was projected significant growth in 2023. Namely, the value of premiums written was forecast to increase by roughly eight percent between 2022 and 2023.
Key segments of the Russian insurance market
Generally speaking, the insurance market consists of two major sectors: life insurance and non-life insurance. A life insurance policy pays out a lump sum of money in case of the policyholder’s death or at the maturity. The annual value of premiums written in that segment in Russia was forecast to reach 550 billion Russian rubles in 2023, up 10 percent from the previous year. A non-life insurance policy, on the other hand, offers financial protection to cover any health issues or losses incurred by assets such as vehicles and property. Compared to life insurance, the non-life insurance segment was predicted to experience more modest growth in 2023. Personal property insurance was the most promising field by growth potential in non-life insurance.
Who are the major players in the Russian insurance market?
In the life insurance segment, Sberbank Life Insurance was the dominant brand, accounting for approximately 167 million Russian rubles of written premiums in 2022. It was followed by Alfa Life Insurance and Sogaz Life, which received 117 million Russian rubles and 55 million Russian rubles, respectively. The non-life segment had several key players. Reso-Garantia was the top chosen company for Osago, or compulsory motor third-party liability insurance in Russia, having generated roughly 52 billion Russian rubles in premiums in 2022. When it came to Casco, or voluntary motor insurance, Ingosstrakh led the ranking, with 39 billion Russian rubles in premiums in 2022.
Technology use in Russian insurance companies
Insurance enterprises in Russia have been gradually implementing innovative technologies in recent years. The most actively employed ones were cloud technology and machine learning models in 2021. More specifically, 41 percent and 53 percent of insurers reported using cloud technology and machine learning in their companies, respectively. Optical recognition (OCR) was most used in finance and accounting, according to six percent of survey participants in that year. Furthermore, a quarter of insurers admitted to running pilot projects on the use of OCR in claim settlement. Despite this positive trend, almost two-thirds of respondents admitted that outdated information technology (IT) systems were the major obstacles to developing new technologies in insurance.
