Certain insurance companies face viability problems, sources from the Insurance Superintendent’s office stated on Tuesday. “Problems have worsened with the imposition of the new legislation. At the current stage, more than ten insurance companies go through a critical period of transition. The problems are kept under control so far. But if things do not change in the near future, they will collapse”, same sources said.

With the new EU directives which will become effective within the next year, the companies must increase their capital base, otherwise they will have to close. The problems have been already identified by the Superintendent’s office, which is in constant contact with certain insurance companies.

Insufficient staffing

However, the increased competencies of the Service have showed that there is a staffing problem. “There is a need of a numerical and quality increase in the staff. Current manpower cannot deal with the investigations on the spot, required by the European Commission. The fact, however, that there are fewer investigations on the spot or due to insufficient staff does not mean that there is no supervision. If there were no supervisions, we wouldn’t take away licenses”, high-ranking officials said.

The staffing problem was also identified by the Head of Laiki Group Insurance, Takis Fedias, on his interview to newspaper “Politis”: “There are laws, but their enforcement is not secured. The problem is that the Insurance Superintendent’s office lacks staff. The adoption of certain legislations cannot protect the consumer”, he concluded.