The Financial Supervisory Authority launches the PAD 2024 Caravan

Bucharest, 3 October 2024 – The PAD Caravan, an information and awareness-raising initiative on the importance of mandatory home insurance, organized annually by the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF), started today with a meeting hosted by Ilfov County Council, which addressed the role and usefulness of mandatory home insurance against natural disasters (PAD) - earthquake, landslide and flood, as well as the need to be aware of the benefits of this type of policy.

The meeting was attended by Mr. Gabriel-Ioan Avrămescu, First Vice President of ASF, Mr. Sorin Mititelu, Vice President of ASF and coordinator of the insurance-reinsurance sector, Mr. Vincențiu Voicu, Vice President of Ilfov County Council, Mrs. Olivia Ciobanu-Oprescu, Public Administrator of Ilfov County, Mrs. Nicoleta Radu, General Manager of PAID, Mr. Irinel Dinu, Manager of the PAID Damages Department and Mr. Adrian Marin, member of the UNSAR board. The event was also attended by representatives of the Ilfov County Mayors' Offices, owners associations and other public authorities.

ASF, the Pool for Insurance Against Natural Disasters (PAID) and the National Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies in Romania (UNSAR) are organizing in October and November 2024 the 8^th edition of the PAD Caravan.

”Today marks the start of a new edition of the PAD Caravan, an information and education initiative that we have been running for seven years. We must say unequivocally that a high level of mandatory home insurance coverage contributes to the economic stability of communities. I say this because, when citizens are financially protected, the pecuniary effects of disasters are to a large extent smaller and communities are thus able to recover more quickly”, said Mr. Gabriel Avrămescu, First Vice-President of ASF.

Over the next two months, the PAD Caravan will cover routes with stops in various county towns, including Iași, Oradea, Cluj-Napoca. During the meetings organized in the major cities of the country, ASF representatives, together with PAID and UNSAR specialists, will interact directly with the participants, presenting the mechanism of PAD insurance, the risks it covers, the exclusions, what to do in case of damage, etc.

”It is important to ensure both the financial stability of the insurance system and the protection of citizens when they face the risks of climate change. We cannot avoid these undesirable events, but we can manage the effects of risk, through those tools that help us to get out of these special situations, to ensure protection at the individual level, but also at the level of entire communities,” said Mr. Sorin Mititelu, ASF Vice President. Over the next two months, the PAD Caravan will travel on routes with stops in several cities in the county, including Iasi, Oradea, Cluj-Napoca. During the meetings organized in the major cities of the country, ASF representatives, together with PAID and UNSAR specialists, will interact directly with the participants, presenting the PAD insurance mechanism, the risks covered, exclusions, what to do in case of damage, etc.

In order to increase the coverage of mandatory home insurance, a series of discussions will be initiated with a view to concluding partnerships with utility providers to broker this type of insurance, while simplifying the procedures for authorizing agents to sell PAD policies.

With some 2.3 million homes (23.7% of the total) currently insured against natural disasters under the PAD insurance, there is an acute need for information on the responsibilities of each homeowner and the benefits that compulsory PAD insurance can bring to them.

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