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Bill will encourage insurance companies to buy life insurances from the bankrupt insurance companies Aspida and Commercial Value, said Vice Minister of Fnances Filipos Sahinidis. The two companies announced bankruptcy in September last year and left hundreds of thousands of policyholders without any coverage. Incentives for insurance companies are the fact that at least initially the insured will not be able to cash the insurance, the Minister stated. 

During a discussion in parliament, Mr. Sahinidis accused the government of New Democracy, that it did not prevent the interests of employees in these companies and the insured. Minister Sahidis noted that "the seizure of operating permit was triggered by the signature of the Finance Minister at that point Yannis Papatanasiou. 

It is expected that the bill, which will be submitted to parliament in the next two weeks, will set up a "Life" guarantee fund and so it will cover part of the insurance up to 50%. 

In connection with the bill the Minister stressed that the government has made a request to the European Central Bank, because except as a provision relating to the insured in Aspida, the bill includes the repeal of the Supervising Commission of private insurers, which goes to the competence of the Bank of Greece. 

Mr. Sahinidis added that in these circumstances it is impossible to transfer financial burdens to taxpayers caused by the pathologies of the private insurance market. "Therefore, the state cannot guarantee that it will cover life insurance, despite the fact that this undertaking would be regarded as a violation of Community legislation," the minister said. 

Ioannis Pandelidis, in charge of supervision of life insurance appointed by the Department of Finance, is already working on finding insurance companies, which will take the “Life” insurance from the bankrupt Commercial Value. According to expert assessments on private insurance market, but also in the opinion of Mr. Pandelidis, the situation for compensating injured insured by the bankruptcy of Commercial Value (CV) is more reliable than the insured in Aspida. 

Meanwhile "Agrotiki Asfalistiki" announced they will take the insurance against fire and earthquake of 14 000 unencumbered properties that remained uninsured after the bankruptcy of the Aspida.