VILNIUS (BNS) – The German insurance company Alte Leipziger unveiled plans to merge six joint ventures operating in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Hans Dieter Knuettel, a member of the Alte Leipziger board, said at a news conference in Vilnius that the plans were aimed at creating a common Baltic insurance market.
Alte Leipziger has set up two joint ventures in Lithuania, Drauda and Draudos Gyvybes Draudimas, two in Latvia, Rigas Fenikss and Rigas Fenikss Life Insurance, and two in Estonia, Bico and Bico Life Insurance.
The existing laws in the Baltic countries do not allow the merger of insurance companies, but Alte Leipziger hopes that the situation will change when the three states open membership talks with the European Union.
Non-audited data show Drauda, which ranks second among Lithuanian insurers, operating at a profit this year. The company boosted insurance premiums by 13 percent to nearly 13 million litas ($3.25 million) over the first five months of this year.
