UK London Insurance Group invests in the Leader Team Insurance broker and has an option to purchase up to 40% of the company’s shares, an investment that will allow the Romanian broker to replicate the business model in several cities in Romania and increase the team local.

“It was a step we had to do for some time, we are in partnership with the London company in 2013, we have managed to bring innovative solutions on the Romanian market over time. It is an investment that will be implemented in 2018 on two levels: increasing the sales team and replicating our model in the main cities of the country, “said Razvan Rusu, managing partner Leader Team Insurance, ZF Live.

Răzvan Rusu will remain a majority shareholder in the company even after the deal, and London will be able to hold up to 40% of the shares.

“It was my decision to remain a majority shareholder. We have a business of 3.5-3.6 million euros in the first half this year. Commissions are somewhere at 600,000 euros. For us 2017 was a year of growth, similar to last year, an increase of 30-31%. It has been a tough year and a bit sophisticated, we have also focused on this investment. “

Razvan Rusu claims that this year he continued balancing his corporate and retail portfolio and managed to bring insurance to the financial market in Romania. The largest investment made by the World Bank through the IFC investment division was made by Leader Team Broker for a debt recovery company, an insurance package of 1.3 billion euros.

“We provided the insurance package and placed the insurance in London. This is cyberinsurance, crime insurance, etc. No events resemble the other, are events that involve hundreds of people, such as the Europa League 2012, which remains the biggest event ever provided in Romania. “

He explains that the whole “puzzle” of the event needs a whole range of insurance: third party liability, spectators, all involved in the process, all sorts of accident-related specifications, risks arising from the use of fireworks.

Amounts can range from € 5 to € 10 million for such events, and insurance premiums may vary, depending on the complexity, between € 1,000 and a few tens of thousands of euros.

Instead, on the financial side, quotes are much higher, “we are talking hundreds of thousands of euros.”

“From my point of view, there may be some legal provisions for event organizers, not to happen what happened a few years ago with the unfortunate event at the Collective.”

“For example, from the catering company, everyone can get sick, something may get burned, a reflector falls. The organizer has to buy when organizing an event and an insurance policy, tailored to the nature of the event, duration, risks, number of participants, etc. “

What did Razvan Rusu say at ZF Live

→ In Romania, the penetration rate for events is very low. I’ve tried special insurance for athletes.

→ The insurance market is rising, we exceed the maximum figures in 2009, have been very exciting growth lines on the whole market.

→ The share of bonuses is very little exploited. The consumer does not know the possibility of not always calling to a bank for a warranty letter, can be made directly to the broker. We have encountered delicate situations for customers when they have no access to finance, and we have succeeded in making these debts easier to implement European projects.

→ All companies, not just insurance companies, will have to comply with data protection rules. Automation of all processes can be done through IT systems. We are developing a highly-performing IT system to comply with all the new rules. We have started investing for such solutions since the end of last year.

Article published in the printed edition of Ziarul Financiar dated 05.12.2017