“We are here to make a profit – it is our priority. If we want to make a profit, we have to ensure the efficiency of our core activities, which is insurance, risk assessment. There are many companies which do not price the risks the way we do, which offer the products and services at lower prices on the market. Hence if we want to justify our price for risks, we must ensure customer satisfaction and meet their expectations,” he said.
The number of companies operating in Lithuania’s insurance market is too big and should decrease, Vuorinen forecasts.
“I think that consolidation is unavoidable if the losses continue. The insurance companies have to make a profit if they want to survive. I do not think that many shareholders are eager to cover the losses each year or prefer the insurance companies to make profits only from investing. They can make direct investments themselves, they do not need insurance companies for that,” he said.
Vuorinen admitted that If P&C Insurance, which had set up a branch in Lithuania, might seek to consolidate its positions in the country through acquisitions.
“Whenever an insurance company is put on sale in the Baltic countries, we, of course, are interested, since we are to stay here. The Baltic countries have been included in the growth strategy of If group since the Nordic countries are rather stable, the saturation of insurance business is quite high, the activities are developed in line with the growth of the economy, and the Baltic countries have a much larger potential, since saturation levels are much lower,” Vuorinen said.
