Poles behind the rest of the region in insurance sales

According to a SwissRe report on the state of the international insurance market in 2001, the average Pole spends one thirtieth as much on insurance as a Swiss citizen, who pays over $4,300 a year in premiums - the highest in the world. Poles spend about $140 a year, which places them 44th in the report's ranking. There has been a 2% decline globally in insurance spending in comparison with 2001, due to bearish markets significantly reducing sales of policies based on investment funds. Poles have increased their spending on life insurance polices by only 4.5% compared with 2001, much less than the regional average of 24.4%. According to the report, this is due to the country's difficult economic situation. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B7) M.M.