ASF acts to protect Romanian consumers: the activity of the Bulgarian insurance company DallBogg, temporarily suspended

Bucharest, 12 June 2025 – The Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) announces that the issuance of insurance policies, including motor third-party liability insurance, by the Bulgarian insurance company DallBogg will be temporarily suspended as of 1 July 2025. The company has been active on the MTPL market in Romania under the Freedom of Services (FoS) regime since November 2024.

According to the legal framework governing the activity of companies operating through FoS, the decision was taken by the Bulgarian supervisory authority and has direct effects not only on Romania but also on other European countries such as Poland, Greece, Italy, and Spain, where the company operates on the basis of a European passport.

Although the powers of national authorities over companies supervised by another Member State are limited, ASF acted proactively, promptly signaling the conduct risks identified in the company's activities and requesting the Bulgarian authority, as early as the first quarter of 2025, to conduct a comprehensive analysis of DallBogg's practices. The issues raised mainly concerned delays in the settlement and processing of claims and failure to fulfill contractual obligations towards policyholders.

"We want to assure consumers that the insurance market in Romania is solid and does not face any major risks. To prevent difficult situations from recurring, we have worked closely with European institutions and taken early action. The temporary suspension of the company's operations in Bulgaria does not entail any additional costs for anyone, whether the state, policyholders, or the guarantee fund. We have used all available legal levers to protect consumers and limit any possible escalation of the situation," said the ASF President, Mr. Alexandru Petrescu.

Although DallBogg holds a market share of only 2.7% of all valid motor third-party liability insurance policies, the associated risks have been rigorously assessed in accordance with legal requirements.

The suspension measure applies exclusively to the issuance of new policies. Insurance contracts already concluded by DallBogg remain in force, and the company is obliged to honor payments related to claims and to comply with the contractual terms.

In the near future, at the ASF initiative, a joint inspection will be carried out together with the Bulgarian supervisory authority and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) to thoroughly assess the conduct of DallBogg in Romania. The checks will cover both the way claims are handled and the fairness of product distribution, in line with the European Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD - EU 2016/97) and national laws. In this context, Romania is actively involved in a pan-European supervisory process, assuming its responsibility to contribute to the early correction of malfunctions that could have become systemic.

In the first three months of 2025, the motor third-party liability insurance market in Romania recorded an 11% increase compared to the same period last year, reflected in a total gross premium volume of approximately RON 2.4 billion. This figure includes both subscriptions made by locally authorized companies and those made by companies operating under the Freedom of Establishment and Freedom of Services regimes. At the same time, the number of MTPL policies concluded exceeded the threshold of 1.8 million, representing an increase of 8% compared to the first quarter of the previous year.

From a financial stability perspective, the market stands out for maintaining prudential indicators at comfortable levels. The solvency capital requirement (SCR) coverage ratio stood at 159%, while the minimum capital requirement (MCR) was 376%. These parameters highlight the structural soundness of the insurance sector, suggesting a robust capacity to absorb risks and protect the interests of policyholders in the medium and long term.

The statement from the Bulgarian Supervisory Authority can be found here here. 

The EIOPA statement can be found here.

The Bulgarian Financial Supervisory Authority has published on its website a series of questions and answers to inform consumers about the current situation of the company, with translations provided for informational purposes, here (in English) and here (in Romanian).