30 April 2014 Insurance

Eastern Europe a hot topic at RIMS

The ongoing political upheaval in the Ukraine is an important point of discussion for attendees at this year’s RIMS conference according to Vinko Markovina, senior vice president, global practice leader, international insurance solutions for Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty.

“We have to keep a close eye on the developments in Russia and specifically on the developments of potential sanctions that might be imposed on doing business in Russia,” he said. “This is a big concern of ours, as we service numerous multinationals that have exposure locations in Russia.”

As well as making sure Allianz keeps pace with any potential sanctions, Markovina is keeping a close eye on credit ratings in Eastern Europe.

“When you look at sanctions and political risk it’s not only Russia that you need to consider – we also have to have a close eye on the surrounding countries,” he said. “Russia has always been a challenging country to do business in for multinationals but the current situation is creating additional turmoil for us.”

Markovina is also focused on the issue of doing business in countries such as Brazil, India and China. He and his team are continually looking for ways to do business more effectively in these challenging regulatory environments.

“We’re seeing a trend where the emerging markets are starting to establish their own insurance programmes,” he added. “They are no longer only service providers for developed markets but are also establishing multinational programs in their own environments as a result of their investments abroad.”

He added that the topic of regulations and compliance is a focus for global clients at RIMS.

“Being compliant is extremely critical for our clients and this continues to be a topic in every single industry event,” he said.

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