Life insurance is a product for which there is no alternative when unpredicted situations occur, but a very small number of Macedonians use it. Therefore, the insurance companies need to introduce the benefits of owning a life insurance policy better, and people to dismiss the mentality that nothing is going to happen, said Bernd Achatz, member of the Management Board of "Winner Life" in an interview for Dnevnik daily.
According to Achatz, around 3 percent of Macedonian residents have signed a life insurance contract. For comparison, he said that Austria has more life insurance policies, including life insurance of a pension character, than it has population.
He pointed that the market rate for life insurance in the country is low for several reasons, one of which is citizens not being informed well enough.
"The reason for this is not providing enough communication and information for the nature and the benefits of the product, by both the life insurance companies and the brokers. Sometimes I get the feeling that people do not trust companies for several reasons because of previous experiences in the past, to be able to set aside funds for a longer period of time, for example 30 or 40 years. This is comprehensible, and we are aware that it takes time to develop such confidence. In Austria, people have gotten used to make such long-term contracts in the past 40 years, Achatz said.
He advises residents to sign life insurance policies, because that helps for the future of the users personally, or their families.
"The fact is, unpredicted situations can occur, and in some cases they can be very drastic. The tragedy is especially big when you leave behind someone depending on you. In such cases, the life insurance can help the family from a financial aspect. Life insurance is a product for which there is no alternative. Also, there is another type of life insurance, covering the two aspects of life. It covers the accidents, as well as the future - even with retiring. Here is a simple example, the sum that has been invested, plus interest rate. In the case of life insurance - if a tragic event takes place, the compensation is the entire sum that has been insured, which is significantly more. The banking insurance is a great example. In such case, the bank will not start a painful procedure to pay the debt of the family," explained Achatz.
When asked which is the most inexpensive monthly or yearly insurance premium and how affordable it is to Macedonian citizens that have an average salary of about EUR 350, Achatz said that the minimal yearly premium is EUR 200.
"To answer your question, we must differentiate between a straightforward life insurance with risk coverage and a life insurance which has a savings function. If the client chooses a live insurance with a savings function, the minimal yearly premium is EUR 200, or EUR 20 on a monthly bases. Still, the essential function of life insurance is to alleviate the consequences in the case of death and then we can discuss a monthly premium of EUR 5, depending on the longevity of the agreement and the client's age. At this risk, you can add the insurance against disability, serious illnesses, etc, depending on the individual needs and limitations.
Achatz reveals that the highest insurance sum stands at EUR 1,5 million.
In partnership with the Sparkasse bank, Sparkasse recently started offering bank-insurance. Achatz reveals that this possibility, practiced for decades in his home country, is most deserving for the development of businesses in Austria.
"Bank-insurance as an offer for Macedonian clients is becoming a very popular and respected product on the market. This offer has a 25 -year-long history in Austria, and it is deserving of 50 percent of the new businesses, i.e. every other life insurance policy is contracted through the banks as selling points. This is due to many factors, namely clients in Austria stick to their banks for years, which develops into a stable relationship. As banks know their clients very well, they can easily offer them something which will fit their needs", Achatz pointed out.