Insurance risks for timber companies in the Russian insurance market

In recent years many experts make attempt of economic justification for introduction to the domestic insurance market of such type of branch insurance as insurance of the wood (from the natural, technological hazards causing damage to forests) and responsibility of forest users. His introduction is directed, first of all, to need of preservation and a complete recovery of the affected timberland, protection of ecology of the wood. 1

Insurance in the sphere of timber processing complex assumes compensation of losses from consequences of realization of risks at forest exploitation or from natural disasters, thereby promotes providing a material basis of functioning of economic entities of timber processing complex, implementation of the functions by them. Formation on basic elements of scientifically based financial policy of steady functioning of forestry and the effective financial mechanism of her realization, including by means of execution of basic functions of insurance is a logical consequence of expansion of development of the insurance relations in forest branch.2

By estimates of experts, summer of 2015 over 2 million hectares of the wood have burned down that has brought the enormous, compensated by nobody damage which completion without insurance requires not less than 100 years. In addition, insurance coverage of forestry is important from the point of view of preservation of the native habitat of wild animals, maintenance of stability of climate, adaptation to possible climatic changes and increase in ecological potential.3

However now insurance of the wood and risks of the LPK enterprises is in limited demand though it isn't excluded that in connection with the fires of the last years and problems of forest fund which have visually shown need of insurance of forestry the situation will begin to change. To one of ways of the solution of this task we offer introduction of the general Russian system of obligatory insurance of the woods directed, first of all, to maintenance and recovery of forestry, and also to protection of ecology of a forest complex. Insurance protection in this case has to be guided by need of restoration of affected forest fund, proceeding from determination of the sizes of its insurance covering and establishment of a procedure of payments of losses. From the point of view of the head of the center of agricultural insurance, at the initial stage it is necessary to organize insurance in an obligatory form with creation of the appropriate supervisory authority which is responsible for efficiency of insurance protection of safety of the woods and reforestation.

At development of the system of obligatory insurance of the wood in single questions it is possible to be guided by international insurance experience of the countries having forest resources such as Finland, Canada and the USA.

In relation to the Russian practice, creation of system of insurance of forestry needs to be begun on the terms of obligatory participation of the state with restriction of responsibility of insurers. Formation of the uniform mechanism of work at which insurers answer for the assumed obligations to a certain level at which excess – the state has to bear responsibility is for this purpose recommended.

World collecting awards on agricultural insurance, including insurance of forest resources, is made by 7 billion US dollars while in Russia insurance of the wood is in limited demand, and the volume of insurance premiums isn't a little significant.4

It is connected with the fact that the owner of the woods in our country is the state in which budget costs of obligatory insurance of this strategically important property aren't provided.

Nevertheless, it is possible to allocate groups of subjects of the forest relations interested in insurance of forest resources: the government of the country, large forest users, the medium-sized and small companies which activity is connected with constant use of forest resources. Besides them, exerts impact on development of forest insurance in the world commercial the banks demanding that their clients – forest users were insured for maintenance of the solvency.

The major factor influencing quite wide circulation of insurance of the wood abroad is the developed structure of the forest industry in the concrete country, but not quality of breed of wood or the made production. Demand on insurance of forest resources is positively influenced by development of the property relations, close ties between the state and forest users, the transparent legislative base, a reliable assessment of forest resources, increase in real investment into forest sector, and also deterioration in the risk situation connected with adverse climatic conditions.

As have shown researches, the set of similar laws is abroad adopted, and the Russian legislative institutes with big lag consider topical issues. The world community globalizes, in the insurance sphere legislative rules gain the increasing uniformity, compliance of legal approaches becomes significantly more, and, according to scientists, they need to be adapted in relation to Russia. 5

Besides, methodical approaches to an adequate assessment of losses from wildfires need serious completion.

One of priorities is development of the general uniform concept of a cost assessment of forest resources and processes of a lesopotrebleniye which will allow to create basic system of criteria of estimation in a section of various resource and geographical components, optimum from the point of view of economy and forest exploitation.

From the nation-wide point of view the economic assessment of forest resources provides the solution of two main interconnected objectives: determination of economic value of the wood in value terms and the choice of ways of optimum forest exploitation specific conditions. For this purpose cardinal revision of an order of an assessment of resources of the wood which unreasonable understating of cost involves a number of other problems, in particular shortreception of state revenues is required.

And despite recent designation of this task at the government level and preparation of the project about introduction of system of insurance of the woods, the prime question of introduction of an evidence-based assessment of forest resources still remains open.6

In our opinion, for today the state has more advantages at introduction of system of obligatory insurance, despite obvious increase in expenses of his financing, at a preliminary stage. It is connected with the fact that comparison of costs of mitigation of consequences from the wildfires which are regularly happening during the summer period and expenses on obligatory insurance of forest fund, certainly, appears in favor of the last. The separate procedure in the course of realization of obligatory insurance of the wood and civil liability of forest users it is important to designate need of implementation of special state control of subjects of insurance business from the point of view of check of their financial activity. Along with it the state has to become the regulating party in respect for balance of interests of all participants of obligatory forest insurance, considering specific features, both insurance, and forestry and landscape activity, without providing any preferences by the subject of the contractual relations.