ASA executive director Azer Aliyev says that during yesterday’s regular meeting of the Association’s Supervisory Board it was heard a report on the activities of all working committees.

"Today ASA is numbering 6 working committees: Legal Committee; Underwriting Committee; Committee on Voluntary Health Insurance (VHI), Education Committee; Committee on Life Insurance; and Finance Committee. During the meeting the ASA Supervisory Board has appraised quite high work of two committees – the Legal Committee headed by Mustafa Abbasbeyli (he represents Standard Sigorta) and the Committee on VHI headed by Anar Bayramov (he represents A-Group). Both committees conducted active work, hold regular meetings, and developed specific recommendations for insurance companies. Thanks to the work above-mentioned heads, it was done serious work aimed at improving insurance relations and quality of insurance services," Aliyev said.

It is worth noting that work in the committees is first and foremost a serious social burden, which may entail serious consequences, and is always subjected to direct criticism. Moreover, this activity is voluntary and is not paid materially. So, a person who participates in the committee and moreover, is its head must have high moral character, sense of social responsibility, a desire to help the insurance community (and in fact, not only in words) and believe that his work is aimed to benefit people and society as a whole.

"I’m glad that the above-mentioned leaders are precisely such individuals. I’m sure that companies in which they work and head stick to the same values," Aliyev said.

However, not everything is so smooth in work of the committees.

"Unfortunately, there are committees, work of which the ASA Supervisory Board consider unsatisfactory. For example, the Underwriting Committee chaired by Alpha Sigorta’s representative. This committee is one of the most important for the insurance community, but its activity leave best to be desired. By the way, at yesterday’s meeting the Supervisory Board satisfied the desire of this committee’s head to release him from his post, expressed by him a week ago. Currently, ASA is looking for a new head of the Underwriting Committee," Aliyev said.

The Supervisory Board was briefed on the work of the Education Committee, chaired by Orhan Huseynov, representing Bashak-Inam.

"This committee is working now actively with the Turkish Institute of Insurance to develop a project aimed at organizing long-term courses on insurance in Azerbaijani language. Later ASA intends to apply to international financial institutions to obtain the grant, due to which this project will be implemented already in 2012," Aliyev said.

At the meeting it was also decided to suspend temporarily activities of two working committees - the Committee on Life Insurance and the Finance Committee.

"In the course of heard information the Supervisory Board considered CLI work inappropriate as its activity fails to meet interests of the insurance community, due to the small number of life insurance companies. Work of this committee will resume in 2012. Besides, it is not entirely clear the fate of the Finance Committee. Its activity has also been found unsatisfactory. The Committee did not even submit a schedule of work for 2011," Aliyev said.

He added that in general, insurance companies have become more active in work of the Association. Today, many insurers support different initiatives to promote security, participate in community activities aimed at development of insurance, and share their ideas on improvement of insurance relationships in the country.

"The leaders in this work are such companies as Standard Sigorta, Ata Sigorta, Ateshgah Sigorta, Azal Sigorta, A-Qroup, Bashak-Inam, International Insurance Company and Azerbaijan Senaye Sigorta," Aliyev said.