DUSHANBE, May 18, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Tajikistan’s private insurance company, closed joint-stock company (CJSC) Orien Insurance, is marking its fifth anniversary today.

Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, the Orien Insurance director Iskandar Sharipov said that over that short period his company has become leader in insurance industry among two state-controlled and 13 private companies operating in the country’s insurance market.

Orien Insurance today offers 11 voluntary types of insurance to the population, legal entities and non-residents in Tajikistan.

According to him, the company’s authorized capital amounts to 3.3 million somoni, while Orien Insurance’s insurance reserves have been formed for 15 million somoni and a total collection of insurance fees in 2008 amounted to 36 million somoni.

Touching upon problems facing the company, Sharipov noted that they were the same that faced other private insurance companies in the country.  “The main problem is improper development of the insurance legislation in Tajikistan,” said he, “They do not pay proper attention to this segment, and therefore, the insurance market here remains monopolized to a significant extent and the monopolists are the state-controlled insurance companies.”

He noted that the insurance market in Tajikistan still worked under the provisions of the insurance law adopted in 1994 already, which did not comply with requirements of today’s realities.  “Although amendments aimed at promoting development of the private insurance business in the country were made to the civil code in 2000, the situation has practically not changed,” the director said.