The value of direct market in Poland is likely to exceed PLN 1 billion at the end of this year. Data on sales via the telephone and the Internet, presented by the PIU for the first time, show that after the first half of this year, premium collected in this market exceeds PLN 500 million.
Within the direct system, we primarily buy motor insurance, 57 percent of which is the TPL insurance of motor vehicles. Motor hull insurance, on the other hand, constitutes more than 24 percent. Other types of insurance sold via the telephone and the Internet include the following insurance policies:
• accident and sickness insurance (9.9 percent)
• assistance (5.5 percent)
• other property insurance (such as household or flat insurance) (2.29 percent)
In general, in the first half of this year, almost 2.9 million insurance contracts were concluded online or via the telephone. For the record, the value of remote sales at the end of 2010 accounted for 3.3 percent of Section II insurance sales realized in Poland by Polish and foreign insurance companies. In the area of motor insurance, this was over 5 percent.
Owing to the initiative of the Polish Insurance Association, it was possible, for the first time, to accurately determine the Polish direct market value. Until now, any statements on the telephone and the internet insurance sales mentioned only the estimates. — Works on data collection and setting the definitions of various concepts took about a year. I am glad that we finally possess full and confirmed knowledge of the size of the market in which we operate. Both the insurers and the customers perceive the Internet and the telephone as increasingly important insurance sales channels. We expect that, by the end of this year, the dynamics of the market will reach nearly 40 percent, and its major outcome will be the increase in non-motor insurance sales — emphasizes Paweł Zylm, the Head of PIU Direct Insurance Team.
Direct is one of several market segments to be monitored by the PIU on a regular basis. — Collection of aggregate data, which was so far not generally available, is one of the important tasks of the Association. We intend to publish, in the near future, data on other parts of the market, such as bancassurance — says Jan Grzegorz Prądzyński, President of the Management Board of PIU.
PIU also puts great emphasis on the education of clients and potential clients of the insurers. Evidence of this is a website dedicated to direct insurance.
– Signals from insurance companies clearly indicated that customers’ knowledge about the sales of insurance policies via the telephone and the Internet is not sufficient. Direct is associated with information of various types that has nothing to do with reality. We wanted to create a place that makes anyone who has any doubts be able to enrich their knowledge about insurance sold on a remote basis — says Jan Grzegorz Prądzyński.
