The FINANCIAL — Insurance is the act of providing financial protection for property, life and health. Health is the most valuable thing for any person, thus health insurance means to protect yourself from financial expenses that can arise from sudden accident or illness which a person can not afford alone. The leading insuring package of Georgian insuring companies’ portfolios is health insurance.
According to Tinatin Stambolishvili, PR Manger of GPI Holding, the company is one of the leaders in the health insurance line with an approximately 25% market share. In 2007 the total premium volume for this particular line of business was GEL 11,457,764 and in Q1, 2008 – GEL 4,554,000.
“The major share in GPI’s health insurance portfolio falls to corporate insurance and state programs, while the smallest share is of individual health insurance,” Stambolishvili declared to The FINANCIAL.
According to Aldagi BCI, health insurance is very popular in Georgia and interest in this respect is growing day by day.
“Aldagi BCI uses advertising campaigns frequently; the last product which we offered to our consumers was Newborn. It’s a special product to insure newborns, from the first days of their lives. It doesn’t necessarily have to be purchased only by future parents, as it is the best present one can give to a newborn,” Maia Ivchenko, PR Manager of Aldagi BCI, declared to The FINANCIAL.
In George Bujiashvili, the Marketing Director of IC Group’s words, in 2003, 2004 the government began to support private insurance market development in Georgia. In the end it helped the increase of awarenedd, not only in the capital of Georgia, but in the regions too.
“Governmental insurance projects, cooperating with private insurance companies increased the number of insured people in the regions of Georgia. These features made insurance far more popular amongst the population. Admired services offered by the companies make the population get interested and buy other insurance programs,” Bujiashvili said.
“Insurance was not popular amongst the population to start with. People were not well aware of the concept of insurance. In previous years only the State Insurance Company offered general public health insurance along with other insurance products. As a rule it was not interesting for the customers, as services were not refined. Today a person knows that insurance is not obligatory but is very important,” Bujiashvili added.
Today Aldagi BCI has about 250,000 insured clients using health insurance policies. Prices and conditions of health insurance vary depending on whether the clients are retail or corporate. Aldagi BCI offers various health products, special insurance programs, e.g. for teachers, for pupils, express insurance and so on.
“Our insurance company has a special product – Universal. Universal enables the client to decide by themselves which type of insurance services they’d like to get and thus compose an individual health insurance policy. The health insurance services are grouped into four independent modules. The consumer is given the chance to choose the minimum insurance coverage of getting only one of the four modules or to receive the whole packet of health insurance services consisting of the four modules,” Ivchenko said.
According to GPI Holding, the company offers a wide variety of health insurance products to its corporate as well as individual clients.
“As far as corporate business is concerned, it is very difficult to fix the price since the premium depends on the number of persons to be insured, scope of cover, limits, loss history, etc. It could range from GEL 3 per month to GEL 150 per person per month,” Stambolishvili said.
“As for the individual clients, GPI Holding offers a completely unique product – Policy-Medi – with a highly affordable price and conditions. Policy-Medi has 5 options; GEL 5, 10, 15, 20 or GEL 35 per month. The cover provides for in-patient as well out-patient services in the wide network of clinics and hospitals in the whole of Georgia,” Stambolishvili added.
In February 2006 and in September 2007 Insurance Company BCI launched its own diagnostic centre’s chain – My Family Clinic, which provides medical services to those insured by Aldagi BCI.
“Insured health monitoring is carried out by highly qualified and certified general practitioners.
My Family Clinic is a chain of independent hospitals investing in the latest technology, improved hospital facilities and recruiting the highest calibre of staff,” Ivchenko said.
According to Bujiashvili, the best promotion of IC Group is the covered expenses of their clients. Satisfied clients are indirect benefits to the company, as they are a guarantee of future cooperation.
“Several reasons for scale increasing exist: the country’s economical development caused insurance business transparency, insurance premiums (monthly payments) are being made honestly and the population is getting benefits from the so-called insurance,” Bujiashvili declared.
According to Stambolishvili, GPI holding also offers a unique health insurance product which is primarily sold in the regions all over Georgia. The premium for this product is GEL 4.5 per month and it covers main out-patient services as well as part of in-patient services.
“To estimate insurance business profitability is very difficult at this stage, as not all insuring companies lead transparent and honest business. In total the Georgian insurance market is represented by 14-15 companies, but only two of them uphold world acknowledged standards. Insurance is one of the most successful, strong and prestigious businesses all over the world. As for IC Group the insuring business is profitable,” Bujiashvili said.
Aldagi was the first ever Georgian insurance company established in 1990 and since that date had been playing the first fiddle until it merged with BCI at the end of 2006. Established in 1998, BCI was considered one of the fastest developing insurance companies, 100% of which was purchased by Bank of Georgia. In 2004 BCI, prior to the merger with Aldagi, was the first company to hit the retail market..
“A lot of insurance products were less developed, for instance pension insurance. GPI Holding was the first company to implement non-obligatory pension insurance on the market. At that stage the scales were much smaller compared to today,” Stambolishvili said.
In Stambolishvili’s words, Policy-Medi is the fastest and easiest way to get insured for individual clients. This is very simple with several clear conditions. We also offer an agent’s service either at home or at the office free of charge.
“All you need is to call an agent on – 505 111, fill out the standard questionnaire and conclude the contract within a day or two. We offer certain discounts for family packages. As for the corporate client, GPI’s consultants will help you to identify the needs and offer the most suitable product for the business and its employees,” Stambolishvili noted.
Written by Kate Tabatadze
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