asfalizomenos.com makes debut

…new web site on insurance matters

 

A new web site on insurance matters, asfalizomenos.com made its debut on May 3 aiming to provide timely and correct information to the public on all aspects of the insurance industry and become a useful tool for insurance companies to promote their products and services.

The site has been launched on the initiative of Manolis Kyriacou, Cyprus’s leading expert on insurance matters and risk management together with the Financial Mirror and closes a major gap in the flow of information to the public on insurance matters.

Indeed, the Cyprus insurance industry, is the second largest services sector behind banking and is probably the only vehicle through which the public invests long term, considering the high number of people with life insurance policies linked to unit funds, notes asfalizomenos.com.

The insurance industry is by far one of the largest investors in the country with strategic investments in land & property, bonds, equities and now diversifying into other areas.

According to data provided by asfalizomenos.com, the Cyprus public paid total premiums of CYP 340 mln in 2005, of which CYP 158 mln were for life and CYP 182 mln for general business, representing 4.39% of GDP, based on official data.

During 2005, the insurance industry had invested the equivalent of CYP 1.01 bln in approved investments of which CYP 904 mln were made by life companies and CYP 107 mln by general business, representing 13.1% of GDP.

“This is why the government continues to give generous tax benefits for people to buy insurance policies and maintain them,” said Manolis Kyriacou of asfalizomenos.com.

The insurance industry however, is not only the insurance companies, but more importantly the public, which pays for the insurance policies and in effect supports and helps the growth of the industry.

While the public pays its share of money to support the insurance industry, the flow of information is very limited and totally controlled by the industry, which is why asfalizomenos.com, being the only independent venture involved with every aspect of the insurance industry comes to fill a major void.

The web site, www.asfalizomenos.com provides the following information:

–         Detailed description of all types of insurance that is of interest to the public;

–         Glossary on insurance terms;

–         Latest news and articles related to the insurance matters;

–         Fund prices including returns, composition of funds;

–         Q&A with Manolis Kyriacou. For the first time, the public will have the opportunity to submit questions to Kyriacou and get the response through the web site with free access to the Q&A archive.

Manolis Kyriacou, with over 35 years of experience on insurance matters and more than 10 years as a truly independent advisor to major corporations is probably among the very few who have the experience, know-how and knowledge to express a truly independent opinion on insurance matters.

The venture also aims to publish a quarterly magazine named Asfalizomenos, which will circulate widely and will be distributed island-wide aimed at the rest of the public with no access to the Internet.