Imer: Simplifying car insurance prices contrary to competition policies

Kosovo Competition Authority General Director (AKK) Sakip Imer, in an interview for Online Economics, is saying that the unification of TPL pricing prices is contrary to the principles of competition in a free market.

He says he has suggested that the CEC take individual actions by insurance companies for the way and the measure they want to increase prices.

The “Diku in July has launched an investigation, access to information, an investigation into the co-operation of security companies to establish a unique price or raise prices. In August we received a request from the CEC to offer an opinion on the proposal to raise the insurance price to 36.56 percent”.

He says the Central Bank of Kosovo as regulatory authority of the insurance industry should ensure that insurance companies compete with the prices and quality of services they offer.

“The unification of TPL pricing prices is contrary to competition principles in a free market. The Kosovo Central Bank must adopt individualised signs based on risk analysis according to the structure/portoffoliote of the Security Company, product characteristics and insurance structure of each insurance provider. After insurance companies in the Republic of Kosovo currently hold the same prices, the Authority suggests that the same are based on market conditions, demand bid, and therefore the price definition is done under these conditions”, he says.

The price exchange is also BQC's responsibility to allow price growth or change, but is recommended that company actions make individual assessments of companies according to company performance. Company capacities, their sales strategies, parameters, type of vehicles, characteristics that need to be taken into account for the creation of other insurance groups that then each has to pay depending on the categories that are defined and the analysis of the proposals that come and then must approve the BQC”.

Imer in this interview has also spoken of his priorities with taking up his new assignment at the helm of the AKK.

“A priority is to create an app, respectively, a system that will manage the work of authority, create a organisational structure and create an opportunity for all AKK activities to be within an application system that will manage all jobs and cases. The rest, which is primary aim, capacity building and building them professionally and budget support and through internationals. The purpose of creating this app or this tool, which will facilitate the work of AKK officials, will be operational or connected with institutions and businesses”, he says of Online Economy.

He says the situation in Kosovo is constantly a situation that has very critical jobs for the Kosovo Competition Authority.

We have different types of co-operation that are not allowed because there are no prohibited agreements meant to be done in order to dominate the market or other forms to undo fair competition and the Authority must intervene whether through investigations or even through initiatives coming from institutions or even from various businesses”.