On 07-09 February Adam Smith Conferences hosted the 2nd RUSSIAN INSURANCE FORUM

Last week, on 7-9 February, Adam Smith Conferences’ second annual Russian Insurance Forum was held at Moscow’s Marriot Grand Hotel.

The first day of the conference, a Focus Day dedicated to risk management at insurance companies, was especially interesting. Western specialists, including risk managers from Allianz, PSA and AXA Poland, braved the freezing weather in Moscow to give presentations alongside their Russian colleagues.

During the coffee breaks delegates admitted that risk management is becoming more relevant for Russian insurance companies, but is still not receiving the attention it deserves. They commented that the fact that Adam Smith Conferences has highlighted this problem gives them hope that more professionals from the insurance sector will start to pay attention to risk management, especially in light of the impending economic downturn.

The Main Forum opened in Adam Smith tradition with presentations by government officials. Yulia Bondareva from the Federal Service for Financial Markets gave the audience an update on the market since the increase in charter capital. Andrey Kashevarov from the Federal Antimonopoly Service in his presentation touched upon the abolishment of the notification requirement for monitoring agreements between financial organisations and Russian government authorities.

After these presentations there was an on-stage interview with one of the leading experts on the Russian insurance sector - Sergey Tsikalyuk, Chairman of VSK Insurance House. Mr. Tsikalyuk spoke about his vision for developing the insurance market, and also shared his experience of working in the insurance business. On 11 February VSK celebrated its twentieth anniversary.