INSURANCE companies expect the number of life insurance policies will expand significantly this year.
The expansion will be fuelled by the large increase in gross domestic product (GDP), incomes, savings and the drop in unemployment, Nik Vincke, CEO of ČSOB Poisťovňa, told the SITA newswire.
Clients are likely to take out investment life insurance, according to Marek Hitka, spokesman of Prvá česko-slovenská poisťovňa Rapid.
"Due to the expected adoption of [the euro], we expect our clients will want to invest their free cash resources," Hitka said.
But the performance of the Slovak life insurance market is still sub-standard compared with neighbouring countries, according to the Komunálna poisťovňa.
"Insurance premiums were equal to only 1.6 percent of GDP in 2006, while in other EU countries it is 5.5 percent," said Monika Grellová, deputy CEO for life insurance at Česká poisťovňa-Slovensko (ČPS).