Author : Halit Shabani, Armend Mehmetaj, Besfort Ahmeti and Aferdita Shabani

Based on the freedom and equality of competition conditions, the degree of democracy of a state or a nation is determined, but also the degree of development and welfare of its citizens. The strongest enemy of free competition in an economy is market and ideas monopolization, like in dictatorial states where everything is taken and decided by a group of people. The Kosovar market is not known as a big market; therefore, the concentration of commercial activities in the hands of a few players can happen much easier than in large markets and it is these concentrations that have a big impact on the end consumer. This implies the need for the proper functioning of the regulatory mechanisms of the market by the state. One of the most sensitive areas where competition is affected is the insurance sector, therefore the need for inter-institutional cooperation, especially the cooperation with economic regulators is more than necessary. A free and fair competition in our market can only be applied when each participant in the market “plays” the fair game by not damaging the other. Free competition should not be understood as a way of doing what we want in the market, but it should contribute to the growth of quality and services to the benefit of consumers and our country in general. This scientific research aims to make a contribution in terms of identifying the effects of the lack of competition control in the insurance market in Kosova. This research has been conducted by taking into account a number of qualitative and quantitative elements that influence or determine the level of competition, the market structure and the concentration, respectively, the behavior of the insurance companies towards the price. Information is collected from many domestic and foreign sources such as: scientific literature, reports from external research, reports from the Central Bank of Kosova (CBK), and analysis of Kosova Competition Authority (KCA). The empirical part of the study covers the collection of data through field surveys in the insurance companies where their management was present in order to provide us with clear and accurate information on the field of research; companies which have been part of a secret deal for third party liability insurance policies (TPL); agreement this that we will investigate. Collected data was processed through the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software, which has helped us through its modalities and options to extract the strongest and most accurate perceptions about the effect of lack of competition control in a particular market, respectively, in the insurance market.

Keywords: Competition, insurance industry, negative effects, lack of control, secret deals

Article published in International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.7, No.3 (June-2017)