YEREVAN, February 1. /ARKA/. Armenia needs no more than seven insurance companies, Rafael Minasbekyan, strategic business development vice-president of ROSGOSSTRAKH Group and a member of shareholders’ board, said answering ARKA News Agency’s question in Novosti International Press Center.

He said that even if the market grows, the country will need no more than 15 insurers.

Minasbekyan pointed out for comparison that Russia had more than 2,000 insurance companies in 2002, while now only 700 remain. The number of insurers in Russia is expected to contract by other 200.

“When 2,400 companies functioned there, first 100 of them occupied 90% of the market, first 50 filled 76% and first 10 more than 50%,” he said.

The vice-president said that insurance market has a bent toward merger and consolidation.

“There were many not so ‘nice’ semi-legal schemes – this is an inevitable phenomenon in developing markets,” he said. “Later, when real insurance comes, this melts away.”

Minasbekyan said that introduction of obligatory car insurance in Armenia will inevitably lead to real insurance.

Now Armenia has eight car insurance companies. Mandatory car insurance was introduced in the country on January 1, 2011.

Eight insurance companies functioned in Armenia in late September, 2011.

Their assets totaled AMD 28.8 billion and liabilities AMD 14.1 billion. Their total capital amounted to AMD 14.7 billion and aggregate net profits for first nine months of 2011 AMD 2.3 billion against aggregate net losses of AMD 291.3 million sustained at the same period a year earlier.

The Central Bank Armenia started controlling the country’s insurance market on January 1, 2006. -0-