The bases go to the Central Bank – Newspaper Kommersant No. 218 (7419) dated 11/24/2022

On Wednesday, November 23, the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market recommended the adoption in the second reading of a bill providing for the creation of an automated insurance information system (“AIS Insurance”). It will be created on the basis of a subsidiary of the Central Bank and, at the first stage, will form a database on auto insurance, including OSAGO. Subsequently, other segments of the market will be connected to this database.

For a long time, the Central Bank sought from insurers to restore order in motor insurance – to have a clean database, in particular, for calculating the bonus-malus coefficient (MBM), to ensure the availability of the service, etc. However, insurers coped with this only partially. On the Banki.ru and Sravni.ru portals, from month to month, complaints are steadily appearing against various insurance companies about the incorrect use of KBM, the inability to issue a policy online or in the office for one reason or another, etc.

The Central Bank is confident that it will be able not only to please consumers, but also not to offend insurers. According to the regulator, consumers will be able to freely receive insurance services in a digital format, from concluding a contract to receiving compensation, and market participants will have equal access to reliable information necessary to assess the risks of customers and insurance objects. This, according to the assurances of the regulator, will allow them to form economically sound insurance rates and create the prerequisites for increased competition.

Currently, the Russian Union of Motor Insurers (RSA) maintains a local AIS related to OSAGO. And, as explained there, first of all, it is their data that is planned to be transferred to the Central Bank system. My sources say that the transmission of OSAGO data is only the beginning, and in the future we should expect more active intervention by the regulator in socially responsible types of insurance. In particular, agricultural insurance and liability insurance for air carriers, since there are still many issues, including with the formation of tariffs.

At the same time, according to market participants, the actions of the Central Bank look more like an attempt to increase intervention in market processes and increase regulatory pressure.

Rejoice remains only associations of insurers. In particular, the transfer of databases will allow them to save on the creation of additional services, for which there is currently not enough money. But there remains an important issue of paying for the services of a subsidiary of the Central Bank. And if it may not be available for consumers, then insurers should hardly count on a zero tariff.