Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia are uniting in order to increase the capacity of the insurance market, unify pricing and improve the quality of risks for companies entering the markets of the countries that signed the Memorandum

On December 23, 2023, a conference was held in the capital of Uzbekistan with the participation of local insurance regulators and insurance companies from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia. During the conference, the participants signed a Memorandum on the creation of the "Turan" international reinsurance capacity.

Its goal is to unite the participants of the Memorandum to form aggregate capacity and improve the quality of risk portfolios against the backdrop of the growing needs of the developing markets of the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus. From now on, all Kazakhstani companies will be able to enter the markets of neighboring countries with high-quality insurance, and “Halyk” Insurance Company” JSC will bear a part of the risks from the expansion.

As noted by Abdir Kaisar, the Acting Chairman of the Board of “Halyk” Insurance Company” JSC: “The signing of the Memorandum will allow us to synchronize the pricing policy between insurance companies of Kazakhstan and our neighbors, obtain more insurance risks and premiums, increasing the retention, capitalization and expertise of local insurance companies. The policyholders of a particular company participating in the Memorandum will be subject to uniform insurance conditions in other countries if such policyholders decide to expand their businesses in international markets. The expansion, in turn, will bring significant benefits to policyholders. The insurance areas of insurance companies in 4 countries include real estate, catastrophes and accidents, construction, oil and electricity production, finance, submarines, terrorist attacks and aviation. The basic sum insured is up to 45 million US dollars. The share of the regional quota is enough to cover most single objects, but business does not stand still, and we plan to increase capacity up to 100 million US dollars by December 2024.”

As stated by Andrei Komarkovskiy, the General Manager of Marsh LLP (Insurance Brokers): “Combining the resources of participants to form a total capacity of 45 million US dollars, with the potential for further increasing capacity up to 100 million US dollars, provides for the provision of reinsurance coverage in relation to insurance objects located throughout the world, in the insurance or reinsurance of which potential participants and partners of the capacity will be involved.”

In turn, Umid Khalikov, a member of the Supervisory Board of APEX INSURANCE JSC mentioned: “In a world where uncertainty seems to be the only constant, the power of cooperation cannot be overestimated. Today we are witnessing the unification of not only reinsurers from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, but also other professional participants in the insurance communities of Central Asia and the Caucasus. This reinsurance capacity symbolizes not only geographic proximity, but also a shared vision of a sustainable and interconnected insurance industry.”

Giorgi Baratashvili, the General Director of “Aldagi” Insurance Company” JSC said: “We are pleased that a cooperation agreement will be concluded with the four largest insurance and reinsurance companies in Central Asia and the Caucasus region.

The Memorandum of Cooperation will help regional companies to expand their insurance capabilities in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, as well as in other countries in the region. Our cooperation will be a prerequisite for the formation of a regional hub of reinsurance companies, which will open up the opportunity for insurance companies to reinsure risks on a wider scale.”

Tural Gasimov Nazim ogly, a member of the Board of AzRe Reinsurance OJSC, also emphasized: “We are pleased to announce our joining the “Turan” pool, which confirms our commitment to meet the growing needs of the insurance markets of a dynamically developing sector. By joining forces, we expand opportunities and increase resilience to risks. This collaboration underscores our commitment to the formation of a more efficient regional reinsurance market.”

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey have already shown potential interest in this association. The memorandum is already helping to take a big step towards the business unification of different countries and obtaining common benefits from international cooperation.