Current issues of regional insurance market development and its role in the economy

In modern conditions, insurance is an important sphere of providing for the sustainability of socio-economic development of the country as a whole and its regions. According to the author, the development of the regional insurance market, which is understood as a set of insurance companies, national insurance markets of individual regions, linked by close integration ties, is of particular importance. Thus, the formation of regional insurers occurs spontaneously, without real support from the state and special programs with the definition of strategic and tactical goals for their development. In this regard, the purpose of the article is to study the development trends of regional insurance markets by the example of the Vologda Oblast, identify its problem areas, determine the role of insurance in the economy, and develop proposals for improving the regional insurance market. The author considers the period from 2013 to 2019 to track the changes in the insurance sector after the adoption of the Strategy in 2013. The scientific novelty of the research is associated withthe following results. The state of the Russian insurance market from the period of its formation to the present time is described by means of quantitative indicators and qualitative characteristics. The factors influencing the development of regional insurance markets are systematized. An analysis of the regional insurance market is carried out by the example of the Vologda Oblast, and the level of concentration of insurers is calculated using the Herfindahl - Hirschman index. The study identified the main trends and causes affecting the development of regional insurance. The proposals to optimize the structure of the regional insurance market have been developed. The materials may be of practical interest both for researchers who deal with the issues and problems of insurance development, and for consumers of insurance services in order to improve the level of insurance culture and financial literacy.