Rating of insurance companies. How to choose insurers

The question of choosing an insurance company (IC) is asked by newcomers and experienced policyholders. Negative experience gained in the past, public opinion, and well-established stereotypes about this service make it difficult to make a decision. At the same time, various agencies, magazines offer their rating of insurance companies. What principle are they based on, what should I pay attention to?

Cumulative (life) insurance

The choice of a life company should be approached with extreme caution. The insurance contract is concluded for a minimum of 5 years. More favorable conditions are offered to customers who issue a policy for 20 years. This is a kind of life insurance that cannot be interrupted. More precisely, the contract can be terminated. But then the client will lose part of the initial contribution and time. The essence of life insurance is the constant accumulation of capital. Therefore, the contract should be terminated in the most extreme situations. Better yet, understand all the nuances of the service before signing the documents.

Risk vs capital

First you need to understand the principles of service. The program includes the conditions of risk and endowment insurance. Only representatives dangerous professions prefer to make an advantage towards defense. The rest are interested in the question of capital accumulation.

Each company makes its own “Insurance program”, which includes a list of risks, conditions for payment of compensation, exceptions. All of them are described on several A4 foxes in small print. To study them in one day will not work. Moreover, the answers to all questions of interest to the client should also be spelled out in the contract, and not only voiced by agents. Therefore, you first need to make a list of insurance companies, and then familiarize yourself with the terms of each of them.

The cumulative part of the contract provides for the transfer of money in trust. SK invests these funds in various instruments. The main task is not to increase capital, but to preserve it. Therefore, preference is given to bank deposits with low returns and minimal risks. Of the profit, 15% remains with SK, and the balance is transferred to the client.

Profitability may vary each year. Sometimes even deposits bring only 3-4% of the profit from which the UK takes its share. A tangible effect will appear only after a few years. In the first years, the client does not receive payments and the amount of charges on the account is minimal. You can increase capital through reinvestment. Therefore, this service should be considered as a product consisting of several elements.

How to pay less

Now companies are promoting their services through a network of agents. The intermediary receives 20-30% of the insurance premium of the client. In order not to overpay on the policy, you can:

• Agree independently with the agent that he will refund part of the funds received to you. This is especially true in the case of endowment insurance. There are not many people who want to arrange the service. But the size of the commission, even at the minimum cost of the policy is large.
• Contact a strass company and arrange discounts on the spot (the client came by himself, and not at the invitation of the employee).
• Become an insurance agent and apply for a policy for yourself and your loved ones on preferential terms.

Company selection rules

• The scope of activities. The largest, top companies that have been on the market for more than a dozen years have a greater advantage. The activities of the insurer should be profitable. Often, ICs are combined into holdings that consist of banks, leasing, brokerage, and other companies. Then the rating of the insurance company depends on the success of the group as a whole.
• Reliability.The dynamics of the institution depends on a constant flow of customers. Agency "Expert RA" has compiled a list of the best companies. The most reliable are Alliance, the insurance company Blagosostoyanie and Ingosstrakh. They are all rated A ++ with a stable development forecast.
• It is good if the company's assets are formed at the expense of capital of Western countries. This indicates a kind of protection. But domestic institutions often transfer part of the risk to Western companies. All disputes with a reinsurer are resolved more easily than with a foreign investor.

The rating of insurance companies is built in several areas. So, in terms of the number of premiums collected for 2014, IC Sberbank is the market leader. The second place is occupied by Renaissance Life, and Rosgosstrakh closes the top three. The insurance company, however, is the leader in the number of payments in 2014 - 2244 thousand rubles. The top three also includes MetLife (2039 thousand rubles) and Sogas-Life (1339 thousand rubles). Renaissance and Alfastrakhovanie are market leaders in the number of newly concluded and existing contracts.

Stable average results in terms of premiums received for 2013-2014 (12,700 thousand rubles) are shown by the MSC group, the insurance company MAKS (123,770 thousand rubles). For the first quarter of 2015, the Moscow Association of Insurers entered into 1.8 million contracts and received 98 thousand applications for compensation. Reimbursement received 97.5 thousand customers. MSC has lower results. The insurance company concluded 625 thousand contracts, received 40.9 thousand applications, and paid out to 51 600 customers.

CASCO

Now, in the car insurance market, designer policies have become very popular, the price of which depends on the number of selected parameters by the driver. One of them is a franchise. It includes a portion of losses that is not indemnified. With a zero deductible in the event of an accident, a policy on vehicles with a cost of 500 thousand rubles. will cost within 5% of its price, and at 15% - 3.5%. You can choose a discount for each insured event: theft, attack, accident. The price of the policy is also affected by the number of people allowed to drive a car, their experience and the presence of accidents in recent years.

What to look for

Policies that provide for compensation for damage without a certificate from the traffic police are more expensive. Companies, although they are afraid of scammers, pay damage under an act drawn up without police officers for broken steles, headlights, and body repair. Therefore, the amount of compensation should be agreed in advance. Example: the cost of painting the bumper is $ 100, the wings are $ 300, the hood replacement is $ 500. The amount of guaranteed compensation should be $ 1 thousand.

To save on cost due to depreciation is also not worth it. For policies with this mark, payment will be made in an amount less than the market value of the part. Example: after five years of operation, the car got into an accident. As a result, the wing was damaged. The new one costs $ 500, but the driver will receive the amount on hand, taking into account 10-15% depreciation per year, that is, 200-250 dollars.

Insurers include unnecessary options in the contract: calling doctors from private clinics (+ 5%), evacuating a car (+ 1%), issuing a replacement vehicle for repair (+ 10%). All of them work only if an accident occurred in a metropolis.

Common problems

If the driver wants to receive compensation in cash, the insurers deduct the amount of the VAT refund. A similar situation occurs if companies bring an invoice without a certificate confirming that the service station is a tax payer. Usually these nuances are prescribed in advance in the contract.

At an official service station, specialists always calculate the damage in an amount greater than the garage stations show. SK disagree with her, conduct their independent assessments and provide addresses of bases that can carry out repairs for a smaller amount. The insurer cannot refuse if the contract states that the company accepts bills from official service stations. In an emergency, you will have to order an independent examination.

If the car is purchased on credit, the repair money is sent to the beneficiary's account - the bank. Sometimes the amount of repayment is equal to several loan installments. Since the bank is interested in ensuring that the presentation of the collateral is not spoiled, you can negotiate with it. You need to take a letter from a credit institution for insurance with a request to transfer funds to the service station for auto repair.

Often, insurance companies delay the payment of compensation. They ask to bring a bunch of documents or wait for the results of the examination. The contract should clearly indicate the time for consideration of the case. The delay can only be due to waiting for help from the traffic police. But it can get the driver himself. To do this, you need to take a request form and call in the department that issued the accident.

Some companies prescribe that the cost of spare parts should not exceed a certain parameter. Most often, this is the price of a part at an affiliate service station. Example: the cost of the original bumper is 2 thousand. A partner sells a “copy” for a thousand. Install a cheap spare part for a new car is not worth it, because after such a repair it will be removed from the warranty. Cash compensation must be requested. carry out repairs at the company station, and then, on the basis of the act, apply for a surcharge through the court.

Rating of insurance companies

According to Expert RA agency, in 2014 Ingosstrakh (28,474 thousand rubles), VSK insurance company (13,150 thousand rubles), and Resource guarantee (27) were among the five leaders in terms of collected premiums. 958 thousand rubles). Most of the contracts were concluded by Rosgosstrakh (642 thousand units). Every eighth client who applied to IC “Consent” did not receive CASCO payment. Sogaz and VSK insurance company were less likely than others to refuse compensation (4% of all recorded appeals). The average insurance rate at Resso-Garantia is 56.4 thousand rubles. (5.98% of the cost of the car). Most of the money in 2014 was received by Renaissance Guarantee customers. The average payment amounted to 69.9 thousand rubles.

Otherwise, the situation is in the CTP segment. The largest number of failures in 2014 was received by UralSib customers. The insurance company has introduced a platform for calculating profits. The system has identified many reported losses. Closing the takes took the form of a refusal to receive compensation. By law, a technical malfunction is not a basis for non-payment of compensation. Reasonable arguments are not a complete package of documents or lack of inspection. For these reasons, every seventh client refused to pay Rosgosstrakh, the insurance company Zurich. The Alliance did not make payments on six requests out of a hundred. Least of all failures were customers of Yuzhural-Asko, Sogaz. The insurance company "Northern Treasury" has only 0.73% of outstanding claims.

Interestingly, in 2013, the largest number of failures was attributable to RSTK (11.7%), Energogarant - 8.2%. UralSib, the insurance company MSK refused only in 4% of cases. Ingosstrakh, ZhASO, Alpha did not satisfy the requests of 2% of customers who applied for payment. The insurance company MAKS, Renaissance, Ugoria refused in 3% of recorded cases.

In Ukraine, according to the results for the 1st quarter of 2015, the leaders in terms of the number of compensations paid and the volume of premiums are Ingo-insurance (164 and 181 thousand UAH, respectively), and Providna (68.9 and 198 thousand UAH) , Arsenal (53.3 and 181 thousand UAH). The first 20 leaders also include Oranta, the insurance company Ingosstrakh and Kraina.

How to choose a reliable partner

No company can guarantee 100% payment upon occurrence of the situation agreed upon in the agreement. But there are nuances that are worth paying attention to.

1. Moscow insurance companies serve customers at a higher rate. But they offer a high level of service. The same rule applies in any metropolis of the country.
2. You should also familiarize yourself with the rating of the UK, read reviews about leading companies.Particular attention should be paid to cases of violation of the deadlines or understatement of payments. It is also worth asking the opinion of friends, colleagues who used the services of a particular insurer.
3. Check your company’s license through the Bank of Russia website.
4. Consult with brokers about two or three selected insurers.

It is also worth paying attention to:

• The geographical location of the branches.
• The amount of premiums.
• The company's market share.
• Having the opportunity to repay the cost of the policy in installments.
• The proportion of denial of payments.
• The financial condition of the institution as a whole.
• Having your own service center.

5. View the addresses of insurance companies, contact the department for signing the contract.

Reorganization

Foreign UK leave the domestic market. Life insurance is developing slowly. Payments under the policies of “auto citizen” and CASCO are growing faster than fees for these types of services. Companies are demanding an increase in compulsory motor third-party liability insurance; otherwise they threaten to abandon this product. The Central Bank assures that institutions can independently reduce costs by reducing agent remuneration by organizing the sale of policies through offices. Insurance companies in Moscow and other large megacities are combined with industrial and banking structures. Vivid examples of such symbioses are Ak Bars and Sberbank. The client who applied for a car loan is looking for the addresses of insurance companies for CASCO registration on the bank's website. Industrial enterprises transfer part of the risk to partners. Provisions for voluntary types of insurance are accumulated in the accounts of affiliated organizations. In the near future, the Alliance may become a new leader in the market. The insurance company took part in KazanSummit - an event dedicated to investing in the Republic of Tatarstan. Prior to that, she won a tender for the conclusion of civil liability agreements with the Municipal Unitary Enterprise “Podolsky Trolleybus”.

How is the rating of insurance companies Expert RA compiled

The largest agency uses a calculation method with a large number of relative factors.

External:

• The size and dynamics of assets, the size of the authorized capital, which are calculated according to the financial statements.
• Company reputation, brand, relationships by supervisory authorities. The fact that the MAKS insurance company participates in four different associations of insurers has a positive effect on its reputation.
• Development potential, risk management, quality of asset management, transparency of economic processes.
• The presence of company offices in various regions.

Internal:

• The quality of the insurance portfolio.
• Client base.
• The presence of reinsurers.

Financial performance:

• Liquidity and solvency.
• Profit and loss.
• Investment policy.

When assessing the UK, the history of large payments is taken into account. For example, the Alliance in 2014 made a payment of 3 million rubles. a client who has received a serious illness, after which he cannot continue his professional career.

Qualitatively assessing the reliability of the insurance company is very difficult. “Popular” ratings, although they have the right to exist, but they are subjective. The same can be said about the reviews. VSK Insurance Company is primarily focused on legal entities. Therefore, many private customers complain about the low service level.