Spain and Georgia strengthen ties in the insurance sector

The insurance sector has been one of the most affected by the COVID19 pandemic. Its effects have impacted the growth and profitability prospects of insurer underwriting and investment portfolios. According to the Insurance Information Institute, the economic slowdown will hit life insurance and annuities especially hard.   

In this context, several civil servants from the Georgian Insurance State Supervision Service (ISSSG) carried out a study visit to Madrid. Among them, the chairman and vice-chairwoman of the ISSSG and the chairman of the Georgia Insurance Association. This meeting forms part of the Twinning project activities to strengthen the insurance sector in Georgia, financed by the European Union and managed by FIIAPP together with the General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds of Spain (DGSFP). 

The visit was not only an opportunity to exchange ideas, experiences and good practices on working in the insurance sector; but it has also allowed face-to-face activities to resume which are such a necessary practical component of the project. The director of the Georgian supervision department, Edvard Vakhtangishvili, highlighted the great work of the project and the possibility of strengthening ties with Spain. “Hopefully this is only the first phase of new projects in the sector with Spain”, he said.   

The activity enabled the Georgian delegation to get to know first-hand the Spanish experience in the implementation of the Solvency II regime and the computer applications used in the DGSFP. During the visit, meetings were held with Spanish staff of the different interest groups. They dealth with topics such as European regulations, the exchange of information between companies and the Spanish Supervisor, and lessons learnt in the implementation of the Solvency II regime in Spain. The experts also had the opportunity to make direct contact with the Spanish insurance market through visits to Sanitas and AGROSEGURO.