GAP Institute and Kosovo 2.0 discussion on the topic"Increase of car insurance premium prices"

30/11/2020

Today, GAP Institute organized a virtual discussion on the topic: "Increase of car insurance premium prices." This discussion is organized within the European Union funded project “Citizens – Engage”. In October last year, the Central Bank of Kosovo decided to increase the tariffs for passenger vehicles by 26%. The CBK increased tariffs in line with the inflation rate netween 2002-2018, although the IMF noted that tariffs had already been revised in 2011. BeratThaqi, Policy Analyst at the GAP Institute, stressed that by increasing the tariffs, the CBK failed to comply with the internal regulation and the factors mentioned by the IMF. This decision and actuarial report were not accessible to the public.

Hekuran Murati, a member of the Kosovo Assembly, said that car insurance premium pricescould be cheaper if the CBK acted in a timely manner by removing undercapitalized companies. Market oversight had been weak, but also the courts were slow in their action. He added that a political will of the majority of parliamentary groups is needed to launch an investigation by the Assembly of Kosovo into the CBK decision to increase tariffs, which lacksin this case.

Valon Prestreshi, Chairperson of the Kosovo Competition Authority underlined that the CBK initially failed to provide the necessary documents to the KCA and that they were provided only after the KCA insisted on its legal right to access such information. Regarding the above-mentioned decision, he added that this decision of the CBK was in violation of the Law on Protection of Competition.

Valon Mehmeti, from the civic initiative "Merakli të Kerreve", showed that the CBK had accepted their requests, but considered it impossible to reduce the price of car insurance premiums. This group has sought to increase civic information,whenever insurance policies undergo changes.

All panelists agreed that partial market liberalization could provide a solution, however putting this into practice required better cooperation between the Central Bank of Kosovo, the Kosovo Competition Authority and the judiciary.

In March, GAP Institute published a report on the increase of car insurance premium prices and the lack of transparency of this CBK decision.

To watch the full discussion click here: https://bit.ly/3msd0gK

This discussion is part of the project “Civic Engagement” supported by the European Union Office in Kosovo and implemented by Kosovo 2.0 in cooperation with the GAP Institute.