Insurance trends in Serbia from 2005 to 2015

The insurance market has a significant impact on the development of economy of each country and it is an important factor of the stability of the financial sector. The insurance market in Serbia is underdeveloped and according to the degree of development, it is well below the average of the European Union member states. This is reflected in the indicators of the development of the insurance market - the ratio between total premium and gross domestic product and total premium per capita. The insurance market in Serbia belongs to a group of emerging markets with significant potential, primarily in the sphere of life insurance. The growth rate of the life insurance market in Serbia was different and it used to be prone to external and internal influence of various factors. Pursuant to the Insurance Law and the Law on Amendments to the Law on the National Bank of Serbia from 2004, supervision over the performance of insurance activities was entrusted to the National Bank of Serbia. In 2004, it defined and disclosed its strategic goal in the field of insurance - creation and maintenance of a safe and stable insurance sector and provision of public confidence in the insurance sector, in order to protect the interests of policyholders and third parties. In accordance with its legal authority, the National Bank of Serbia adopts the acts defined by law, exercises supervision over the performance of insurance activities, issues and revokes licenses for performance of insurance activities, reinsurance, insurance brokerage and activities directly related to insurance activities, gives consent to acts, gives and withdraws approval for appointment of members of the management and supervisory board, grants and revokes the approval for acquiring qualified participation in the company, processes statistical and other data, keeps data registers in accordance with the Law, considers complaints of policyholders and third parties to the work of insurance companies, including conducting mediation