General insurer Aviva has unveiled its expansion plans for the Russian market and confirmed that it is on track to achieve a top five position in this region within the next five years.
Since the launch of Aviva Russia a year ago, the company has already gained a leadership position in the country’s life insurance market, providing life insurance contracts to more than 200 companies and establishing a non-state pension fund aimed at corporate clients.
Building on its success, the group is poised to enter the direct sales market with the launch of its Moscow-based direct sales force, as well as driving product innovation with a campaign to introduce a type of unit-linked product to Russia, a first for the market.
To further strengthen its position in the Russian corporate life insurance market, Aviva has become the associate insurer in the Russian Federation for the IGP – the largest pooling network in the world.
Furthermore, leveraging its bancassurance expertise, the company has entered into partnerships with three retail banks in the country, namely Credit Europe Bank, Banque Accord and Probinsnesbank.
In the retail market, Aviva has recruited the first DSF for the ‘pilot’ agency in Moscow. In this model, DSF candidates are recruited on a full-time fixed income plus commissions basis. This is an innovative approach that should enable Aviva to select quality candidates and gain competitive advantage in the retail market.
Andrei Doubinine, Aviva Russia CEO, said: We plan to expand our operations, strengthen our bancassurance and DSF channels and launch new products. We are confident that our initiatives in sales, distribution, marketing and product development will result in substantial growth in the coming years.