OREANDA-NEWS. October 31, 2011. A conference titled "The insurance business: effective management of a company" took place in Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya hotel. The event was organized by The Moscow Times newspaper. The conference participants discussed the is-sues of proper management of an insurance company in order to improve business efficiency and increase sales while not affecting the quality of insurance services.

The conference was attended by top managers of Russian and foreign insurance companies, government agents, representatives of management and finance companies, as well as insurance intermediaries (agents and brokers).

Nikolai Galushin, Deputy General Director, Ingosstrakh Insurance Company, spoke at the conference. His report was devoted to the strategy for the regional presence of insur-ance companies in the Russian market. In his speech, Nikolai pointed out that creation of regional branches – is an important prerequisite for a company's capitalization growth, increased insurance premiums, entering new markets, and portfolio diversification. The main objective of an insurer – to obtain and maintain a significant share on the regional markets with a profit-making and balanced portfolio of risks. One of the most important tasks – is not to increase the volume of collected premiums, but to establish a managed, transparent and profitable business in all segments and through all major sales channels, subject to a clear planning horizon and a scalability potential.

According to Nikolai Galushin, the effectiveness of regional representative offices of an insurer depends on a team of professionals, continuous monitoring of the quality of the staff, and strict control by means of internal audit and corporate security. Important growth drivers are: budgeting, setting targets and motivating the staff. As for the expan-sion of the regional presence, the Russian experience has shown that organic growth is the most efficient.

The regional network should be well managed by the head office. Uncontrolled or poorly managed regional network – is a time bomb, the "explosion" will be catastrophic, you can even lose your company. Those who do not have a vision of regional development and comprehensive understanding of the corresponding risks, as well as a well-formulated long-term strategy, are doomed to failure" – concluded N. Galushin.