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Insurance companies operating in Armenia are factually out of control despite a body tasked with overseeing them, Pastinfo reports.

Back in June, the UK announced sanctions against 42 more individuals and legal entities under its Russia sanctions regime, including Ingosstrakh, a major Russian insurance provider. The United States later joined the sanctions on insurance companies, which also affected Armenia, the media outlet said.

“Ingosstrakh acquired 75% of Ingo Armenia’s shares back in 2003-2004, therefore the sanctions also affect the Armenian company. Individuals who have purchased health insurance from it fear that they could experience a problem using their insurance abroad, i.e. the western countries will not accept the insurance should the need arise. Moreover, some large exporters have also faced similar problems abroad because of the rejection of insurance provided by Ingo Armenia,” Pastinfo added.

In a Facebook post on July 19, Ingo Armenia announced cooperation with 12 reinsurance companies, including CHUBB - UK/US, Allianz - Germany, BMI - Barbados, Hannover RE - Germany, VIG - Austria, SCOR - France, Swiss RE - Switzerland, Polish RE - Poland, AIG - UK/USA, SAVA RE – Slovenia and ZURICH RE - Switzerland. The statement raised reasonable doubt as it was unclear why a reinsurance group of a country that announced possible sanctions would continue to cooperate with an insurance company hit by sanctions.

“In this regard, Pastinfo submitted a written request to the Central Bank, inquiring whether the bank, as a supervisory and regulatory body in the sphere, had verified the accuracy of the information provided. Does Ingo Armenia continue to cooperate with these companies or does it mislead its clients? Have the risks that Western sanctions pose to the clients of Ingo Armenia been investigated?” the news website said.

In response to Pastinfo’s inquiry, the Central Bank noted that no attempts of misleading clients had been recorded in the statement.

“As for the risks caused by the sanctions, we would like to note that the Central Bank of Armenia does not directly meddle in the functions of financial institutions, except for the cases provided by law. Financial institutions independently manage their risks, including the risks arising from the international sanctions in force,” the Central Bank said.