In 2022, the Bulgarian insurance sector celebrates two important anniversaries - 140 years of insurance in Bulgaria and 30 years since the establishment of the Association of Bulgarian Insurers (ABZ).
In honor of these anniversaries, ABZ organized an anniversary conference "140 years of insurance in Bulgaria", which was held on October 5th, 2022 at the Hyatt Hotel, Sofia city. Special guest-speakers to the high-profile conference were Mrs. Petra Hilkema, President of the European Insurance and Pensions Authority (EIOPA), Mrs. Michaela Köhler, Director of the European Federation of Insurers (Insurance Europe), Didier Millero , Head of the Insurance Section and pension insurance , General Directorate "Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union", European Commission, Daniela Dobreva, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Finance, Boyko Atanasov, Chairman of the Financial Supervision Commission, Vladimir Savov, Deputy Chairman of the Financial Supervision Commission, Kiril Boshov, CEO of Euroins Insurance Group and member of the managing Board of ABZ, as well as high-level representatives of the Bulgarian and European insurance industry.
Two main discussion panels were held within the conference.The first panel was dedicated to the expected innovations in the regulatory framework in the insurance sphere and their impact on the insurance industry. An introductory presentation to the panel was given by Petra Hilkema, Chair of EIOPA, in which she outlined the planned changes to the regulatory framework, with a focus on Solvency II and their intended outcomes. Didier Millero, Head of the "Insurance and Pensions" section, European Commission, also took part in the topic. Michaela Köhler, Director of Insurance Europe presented the changes over the years in insurance-related regulations and the impact of this process on the development of the industry. Other guidelines in the discussion were the expected changes in regulations in Bulgaria and their impact on the insurance sector.
The focus of Kiril Boshov's speech was on the development and challenges which faces the insurance market in Bulgaria against the backdrop of increasing risks and world crises occurring one after the other. He emphasized that the insurance sector and companies are in a stable condition and continue to fulfill their socially significant role of protecting the life, health and property of citizens and businesses.
The second panel was thematically focused on the relatively low insurance penetration in Bulgaria, especially in some sectors, and the possibilities of insurance to fully provide or supplement existing public protection mechanisms. In an introductory presentation to the panel, Konstantin Velev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ABZ, presented the role and potential of the insurance to address the lacks and gaps in the protection against various risks. The discussion outlined how the insurance can improve access to health care and eliminate co-payments, how it can be used to provide additional insurance for citizens for the retirement period, how climate risks and increasing losses to the economy and households can be addressed as a result of natural disasters.
pictures by Toni Tonchev