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Note: Malakut Insurance Brokers delivers an analytic report on the Russian aviation insurance market
While Russian insurance companies count their financial results, we would presume that the aviation insurance market in Russia has shown a growth of direct insurance premiums of about 15% in 2007, compared to 2006's result of about USD180m. Experts at Malakut Insurance Brokers foresee that growth will remain at about the same level in 2008.
The main reasons for the growth are:
* New start-ups and'fresh air' to some of the existing Airlines: significant investments into the commercial Airline sector, including setting up new low-cost Airlines.
* New deliveries of aircraft (predominantly western built) to different operators.
* An increased focus of the Government on aviation equipment manufacture, both civil and military, and the first positive signs of such development.
* A fall in the RUR/USD exchange rate.
Meanwhile, there were some factors that restrained this growth:
* A significant number of eastern built aircraft has been written off;
* Big reductions on renewals, having reached 30%.
The set of insurance companies that provides aviation insurance in Russia has been more or less steady during last 10 years. The leading aviation insurer is Ingosstrakh (rated BBB by S&P) with a market share about 25%. Second place is kept by Sogaz Insurance Company, sharing 13% of the market. Military Insurance Company has slightly less market share at 12%. Other active players in the aviation risks insurance market are Kapital Insurance, Uralsib Insurance Group, Surgutneftegaz. All of the above mentioned companies sell a wide range of insurance classes.
Two insurance companies - Moscow Insurance Company and NIC - serve the insurance needs of Aeroflot (the national flag carrier) and Volga-Dnepr (the biggest cargo operator) respectively,...