OREANDA-NEWS. July 30, 2008. The insurance market of Uzbekistan continues its dynamic development. The total volume of insurance premiums in the republic has increased in the first half of the year by 4.22% in comparison with 2007, reported the Official website www.investuzbekistan.uz.

According to direct insurance contracts, without reinsurance, the volume of insurance premiums has increased almost by 8%, and the share of non-state insurers has increased in the market from 50.3% to 54.2%.

Voluntary insurance during the first half of the year within the direct insurance was the most actively developing. The total volume of premiums of this segment of insurance market of the republic has increased 1.6 times. Besides, the obligatory insurance market, which has increased for the accounting period by 11.5%, has also developed enough.

The structure of direct insurance premiums has not changed much; the greatest share has fallen to voluntary property insurance.

The share of voluntary insurance in the insurers’ portfolio has reduced. Experts believe this trend will continue in near future. It is because of the state’s obligatory insurance policy, directed at increase of efficiency of this insurance market. Thus, in April, 2008, the president of the Republic of Uzbekistan signed a Law “On obligatory civil liability insurance of vehicle owners”, which is to come into force in late October this year.

Today there are 28 insurance and one reinsurance company in Uzbekistan. Twenty seven companies specialize in general insurance and one in life insurance.

In May this year, a presidential Resolution of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On additional measures to further reform and develop an insurance services market” raised the minimum sizes of the authorized capital for insurance companies averagely 2.07 times. Insurers should bring their capital in accord with the new requirements till January 1, 2010.

Particularly, the minimum size of authorized capital of the insurers, specializing in general insurance, increases, according to the current foreign exchange rates, 2.25 times, in life insurance branch – 2.0 times, obligatory insurance – 2.25 times, in reinsurance – 2.0 times.

At the same time the presidential resolution mostly stimulates and gives considerable tax preferences to insurance companies of Uzbekistan. For example, incomes of legal and the physical persons, received from insurers’ stock dividends are released from profit tax since June 1, 2008 for three years.

Incomes of insurers received in the form of dividends and interests are also released from profit tax for the same period. Free means go in creation of regional divisions, branched out agency network across the republic, first of all in countryside, and on development of their material base. Earlier, insurance organizations of Uzbekistan were released by the government decision till January 1, 2011 from profit tax and uniform tax payment.