Development of the insurance market in North Macedonia and Croatia

The aim of this paper is to analyze the level of development of the insurance market in the two Western Balkan countries that have asymmetrical developmental, economic, social, security and insurance markets levels. This asymmetry of development and the insurance market is of interest to be analyzed as a result of the fact that these countries belong to the same region (Western Balkans), but Croatia is already the member of the EU and NATO for a decade while North Macedonia has a serious stagnation in Euro Atlantic integration that has had direct impacts on the risk and opportunity of developing the insurance market. The paper aims through a comparative approach to measure the level of the development of insurance market as an integral part of financial market and focus on the risks and opportunities that has influenced in market security developments to analyzed countries. Improved implementation of structural reform to analyzed countries and in particular reform in the life, property, business and public sector of requirements required the need for preparation of the security reform in the successful experience of developed countries in EU. The analyzed period (2007-2017) integrates three important fazes, the period of beginning and ending of the global financial crisis and the period of recovering after the financial crises. The crises had affected the economies of analyzed countries and in particular in the case of North Macedonia in terms of the development of the insurance market. With a comparative approach we analyze the performance of participants in insurance markets in terms of ownership, profitability, risks and opportunities in North Macedonia based on the experiences of Croatia as a member of EU. Specifically the paper analysis the insurance markets of the two countries of Western Balkan (North Macedonia and Croatia) and does not take into account other WB countries. Key words: Insurance market, financial market, life insurance, property insurance, North Macedonia, Croatia, UE. JEL classification: G22, G19, G20, I13, L10, O5