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Saint-Petersburg, June 3, 2008. INTOUCH INSURANCE is announcing the start of operations and sales in Saint-Petersburg. On June 2, an advertising campaign was launched on central TV channels following the start of Moscow and Samara sales in April. By now, tens of thousands of people have contacted the call center and visited the www.in-touch.ru website.

INTOUCH INSURANCE is bringing a new approach to customer relations to Russia: direct insurance. Cutting out commission payments to agents makes it possible to offer highly competitive rates and direct customer interaction with accurate and detailed information helps to evaluate risks and calculate premiums. A CRM system synchronized with client databases has been developed exclusively for INTOUCH INSURANCE and guarantees quick and reliable services. Already today the price of CASCO cover in Moscow and Samara is up to 20% below the average market level.

Clients can apply for an mTPL or CASCO policy and find out more details about the company by phoning the call center at 8 (800) 555 00 55 (free of charge across Russia). The documents are then couriered to clients within one day. The www.in-touch.ru website features an insurance calculator for clients to see the preliminary cost of their policy. The calculator does not include all the factors involved, and the final amount is quoted to clients by a call center operator after all the additional questions are clarified. Call center specialists can offer tips on insurance options helping to reduce the total policy cost. The quick and comfortable payout scheme is also different from the classic insurance model. For example, clients do not have to take their cars to the insurance company after making a claim, with experts arriving at any location and at any time suitable for clients.

According to a report by UFG and the Federal Insurance Supervisory Authority (FSSN), the rapidly developing Russian insurance market will reach $54.5 billion by 2012, demonstrating an almost three-fold growth as compared to last year’s figures. With the country’s economy on the rise, car insurance market is expected to boom. In 2007, more than 34.29 million mTPL policies were sold in Russia (according to the Russian Association of Motor Insurers RAMI and FSSN) - a figure that is set for further increase: the forecasts are that in 2012, Russians will purchase approximately 3.520 million foreign cars, twice as many as in 2007 (according to Autostat analytical agency).

A marketing study conducted by INTOUCH INSURANCE in Russia’s key cities showed that the car insurance market is ready for the direct insurance model: 68% of car owners would like to have no intermediaries when buying CASCO policies.

In Saint-Petersburg, the study scope included 400 car owners, 64% of which acquire mTPL cover from offices of insurance companies and 11% from auto dealerships. CASCO policies are purchased at offices of insurance companies by 61% of the respondents, which is above the average level in Russian regions. However, approximately 60% of people in Saint-Petersburg would like to have the insurance policy couriered to them after making a phone application, although 27% of the surveyed still prefer to settle their claims at offices of insurance companies.

“With the expertise of our international partners INTOUCH INSURANCE is bringing Europe’s best practices to the Russian market,” says Georgy Alikoshvili, INTOUCH INSURANCE General Director. “Aiming to create an approach tailor-made to the Russian market, we have successfully tested the new system with pilot clients by answering hotline calls, commissioning claim adjusters and processing the insurance policy delivery. Combined with the extensive experience of our international partners, this will help us to extend the worldwide success of direct insurance to Russia.”

INTOUCH INSURANCE is part of Dutch-registered INTOUCH Insurance Group B.V. that already successfully operates direct insurance businesses in many European countries. The shareholders of INTOUCH Insurance Group B.V. are Royal & SunAlliance (UK) one of the world’s leading multinational insurance group, and Direct Insurance Financial Investments ("DIFI") from Israel.

“The launch of the Russian operations is a very important step in our group's development,” says INTOUCH Insurance Group B.V. CEO Doron Schneidman. "We have decided to enter this fast growing market having a proven success record of similar companies operating in other parts of Europe. We are happy that today we can give Saint-Petersburg customers an opportunity to insure their cars by simply making one phone call."

“INTOUCH INSURANCE will be the first company to bring direct insurance to Russia. Phone and online application for policies will ensure the new level of service for our clients and help to set competitive prices differing from standard insurance products available in the market,” says Chairman of Intouch Insurance Group B.V. board of directors Zofia Dzik. “In Poland, similar Link4 project have been in operation for five years now, selling hundreds of thousands of policies each year. We believe that our direct insurance will become as successful in Russia as it is in other countries.”

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