Country _ Name
Russia
SectionTitle
InsurTech
Body
InsurTech is composed of the words “insurance” and “technology”. It is used as a collective term for the application of modern technologies in the domain of insurance services.

Digital and mobile brokers: FinTechs belonging to this category mostly act as digital insurance brokers and provide users with an overview of their insurance contracts with their respective conditions. Some FinTechs offer very short-term insurance contracts to cover specific cases which can be concluded often spontaneously via mobile devices. Oftentimes additional consulting services are offered.

Internet of things: FinTechs belonging to this category collect data by measuring for example the driving style of the customers or through wearables the customers wear to consult on, offer and/or manage the customer’s insurances.

Introduction

Attitude of the country towards InsurTech-services

One of the trends in the insurance market in Russia is the transition to electronic document management.

For example, a mandatory insurance contract can be drawn up in the form of an electronic document (par. 7.2 of Article 15 of the Federal Law No. 40-FZ dated April 25, 2002 "On Compulsory Insurance of Civil Liability of Vehicle Owners").

Various modern technologies are actively being introduced into the Russian insurance market, such as BNLP services for payment of insurance policies ("Buy now, pay later" – purchase with interest-free installment payments), artificial intelligence-based services for automatic processing of customer inquiries related to insurance events and decision-making on payments, the possibility of obtaining a digital voluntary medical insurance policy by subscription, where the customer pays only for the month during which they want to receive medical services ("Pay-as-you-go").

InsurTech services in Russia are also presented in the form of the Internet of Things: for example, some insurance programs involve the use of a mobile application that evaluates the driving style of customers based on the insurance policy. Depending on the overall assessment received by drivers included in the insurance policy, a discount on the insurance premium ("Pay-as-you-drive") will be provided.

Additionally, in accordance with the "Main Directions of Development of the Financial Market of the Russian Federation for 2024 and the period of 2025 and 2026, as well as 2025 and the period of 2026 and 2027" developed by the Bank of Russia, the insurance market continues to work on creating and ensuring the functioning of a centralized system for collecting, analyzing and storing information with the direct participation of the Bank of Russia. This system will provide insurance companies with equal access to high-quality information, which is necessary for reliable risk accounting. They will be able to fine-tune pricing taking into account individual risks of clients, as well as develop new insurance products. For these purposes, a regulatory and technological framework has been created to ensure the functioning of a centralized system for collecting, analyzing and storing information with the direct participation of the Bank of Russia (AIS insurance): requirements have been established for the data transferred to it, for the security of the system. In 2024, the transfer of data on compulsory and voluntary motor insurance and home insurance began. In the future, work will be carried out on building and systematizing mechanisms for monitoring the completeness and quality of data in the AIS insurance using all available mechanisms

Legal affairs

Obligations and requirements to provide InsurTech-services

According to par. 2 of Article 4.1 of the Law of the Russian Federation dated November 27, 1992 No. 4015-1 "On the Organization of Insurance Activities in the Russian Federation" ("Insurance Law"), the activities of insurance entities (insurance organizations, foreign insurance organizations, mutual insurance societies, and insurance brokers) are subject to licensing.

Licenses for insurance activities are issued by the Bank of Russia. The license is issued without a limitation on its term of validity and is effective from the day following the day of the Bank of Russia's decision to issue the license, although the term of validity may be limited in some cases (par.1, 2 of Article 32.5 of the Insurance Law).

Qualification requirements regarding education and work experience in the field are imposed on managers and other key employees of insurance entities, as well as other requirements (for example, compliance with business reputation requirements) (Article 32.1 of the Insurance Law).

Foreign insurance organizations intending to establish branches in the territory of the Russian Federation shall be registered in a member state of the World Trade Organization, have experience in conducting insurance activities through a branch in a country other than the WTO member state, not be registered in offshore zones, and have assets on the balance sheet equivalent to at least 5 billion US dollars by the end of the reporting year (par. 1 of Article 33.1 of the Insurance Law).

Additional comments regarding the legal situation for InsurTech-services or what InsurTech’s must be aware of in this business area

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Economic conditions

Market size for InsurTech-services and biggest companies in this business area

In Russia, there are fewer InsurTech startups compared to Europe, the USA, or China. Investors are hesitant to invest in projects in this field, fearing that their investments may not pay off. The overall insurance market of the Russian Federation in 2024 was estimated at approximately 2.3 trillion rubles. However, there is no data on what part of this volume is occupied by the InsurTech segment. According to rough estimates, InsurTech can be estimated at 100 - 300 million rubles. The largest areas in InsurTech include: online sales of OSAGO/CASCO policies (types of car insurance), telemedicine and DMS, as well as cyber insurance. Among the largest companies are AlfaStrakhovanie, Ingosstrakh, Rosgosstrakh, T-Bank, and others.

Additional comments regarding the economic situation for InsurTech-services or what InsurTech’s must be aware of in this business area

N/A


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