Seesam non-life insurance companies in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia that are members of Finland's largest financial group "OP-Pohjola Group" have merged to form a single company "Seesam Insurance AS” that will operate in the Baltic States in the future.
After the merger, “Seesam Insurance AS” Latvian Branch has taken over all the 'rights and obligations of the Joint Stock Insurance Company "Seesam Latvia” continuing operations of the former company and providing high-quality customer service as usual.
The merger of resources, experience, capital and reserves of the Seesam insurance companies in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will ensure the company's increased competitiveness in the insurance market of the Baltic Countries and better possibilities to make more purposeful investments in development of the company and improvement of customer service and quality growth.
In the result of this merger, “Seesam Insurance AS” has become a major player in the whole insurance market of the Baltic Countries. The company’s estimated total gross premium turnover in 2011 will reach 50 million euros. "Seesam Insurance AS" employs more than 350 employees, who provide for customer service in 32 customer service centres in the major cities of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Seesam started provision of insurance services in the Baltic Countries in 1991, when the Finnish "Pohjola Group plc." and the U.S. insurance group "American International Group Inc". Seesam established a non-life insurance joint-stock company in Estonia. In 1993, a company was established in Latvia, and in 1998 – in Lithuania.
The sole shareholder of “Seesam Insurance AS” is the non-life insurance company “Pohjola Insurance Company Ltd.” which is a member of Finland's largest financial group “OP-Pohjola” and which by more than 120 years of operating experience is not only the oldest but also the largest and most stable insurance company in Finland. The international rating agency Standard & Poor’s has conferred the insurer’s safety rating A+ to „Pohjola Non Life Insurance Company”. This rating is one of the highest among the insurance companies operating in the Northern Europe.
The European Banking Authority, having summarized the results of the bank stress test that was carried out in July 2011, rated the “OP-Pohjola Group” as the ninth strongest to withstand the hypothetical adverse scenarios among 90 other banking groups in Europe.
In 2010, the influential financial newspaper "Global Finance" ranked "Pohjola Bank Plc.", which is a member of Finland's largest financial group "OP-Pohjola Group" as the 33rd safest among the world's 50 safest banks.
Additional information:
Armands Šterns
Tel. No. 67 06 10 29
E-mail: armands.sterns(a)seesam.lv