Moldovans are reluctant to invest in insurance schemes

Moldova ranks the last in Europe by the share of insurances in the GDP and by the subscribed premiums per capita, a study carried out by the Association of Actuaries of Moldova (AAM) says. The insurances were slow to contribute to the creation of incomes in Moldova’s economy during the past three years, with some insignificant variations. This fact is also confirmed by the share of the insurance premiums in the GDP, which last year was the highest in the last nine years, reaching 1.3%, a communiqué from the Association says. The share of the insurance premiums in the GDP in Moldova is the lowest among the Eastern European states, where the average is 2.7%, and among the Western European countries, whith an average of 9.04%. Moldova outruns such countries as Peru (1.3%), Qatar (1.1%), Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Kuwait (under 1%). According to AAM experts, the rate of insurances or incomes from insurance premiums per capita indicates that the society’s interest and insurance capacity is extremely reduced in Moldova. In terms of premiums per capita, the Republic of Moldova takes the last position in Europe and is among the last states in the world, almost at the same level as Vietnam (11.0 USD) and ahead of such countries as Bangladesh (2.6 USD), Nigeria (5.3 USD), Pakistan (5.9 USD). The average disposable income of a person in Moldova was about 600 lei in the past three years, making up 74% of the minimum subsistence level. Given that the disposable income does not reach at least the minimum subsistence level, the population tries to cover the basic necessities and the insurance is not among these, the communiqué says. In 2006, a person spent an average of 155.9 lei (11.2 USD) on insurance. This is fourfold more compared with 1997. The disposable income per person rose about nine times during 1997-2006. The expenditure on insurance made up about 1.5% of the total expenses of a person in 2006, as against the European average of 6.5%. The premiums from insurance per capita in Moldova in 2006 totaled about 11.2 USD, in contrast to 59.6 USD in Ukraine, 94.5 USD in Romania, 100.9 USD in Bulgaria, 150.9 USD in Russia.