BCR Asigurari turnover up to 82m euros

BCR Asigurari, part of the Banca Comerciala Romana (Romanian Commercial Bank-BCR) financial group, last year logged turnover worth more than 82 million euros (297 million RON), 130% higher in euros year-on-year, according to the company”s preliminary results.

This year, the company expects the volume of gross underwritten premiums to further increase by 40%.

The company”s representatives say profit was made last year, but have not disclosed its value, since the financial year statements have not yet been closed.

In 2004, BCR Asigurari derived net income worth almost 4.8 million euros (more than 19.3 million RON).

On the life insurance segment, accounting for a quarter of the company”s portfolio, the company”s turnover posted a 352% surge in euros, increasing to 21.3 million euros (over 77 million RON). The customers of the parent bank, being part of the same financial group, largely sustain sales on this segment. When contracting a loan, BCR customers have to buy a life insurance policy, and the handiest solution is to get this policy from BCR Asigurari, as every bank branch includes a BCR Asigurari office.

At the end of last year, BCR Asigurari shareholders decided to transfer the life insurance portfolio to the company BCR set up last year, BCR Asigurari de Viata.

“The process whereby the life insurance portfolio is transferred to BCR Asigurari de Viata has not yet been finalised, as the portfolio is still being inventoried,” says Romeo Jantea, general manager of BCR Asigurari.

At the end of last year, the general manager position of BCR Asigurari de Viata was taken over by Florina Vizinteanu, a former general manager with Omniasig Asigurari de Viata, a company equally held by the investment fund TBIH and Wiener Staedtische group.

The Austrian Erste Bank, which took over BCR late last year, states it may sell BCR Asigurari and only keep BCR Asigurari de Viata, saying that Erste will not get involved in non-life insurance, as its partner in this domain is Wiener Staedtische Austrian group.

On the general insurance segment, BCR Asigurari last year underwrote double premiums compared with 2004, worth 60.7 million euros (almost 220 million RON). The line of business that brought the highest volume of underwritten premiums last year was insurance for land vehicles, which reached almost 24 million euros (86.7 million RON), 90% higher in euros from 2004. angela.placinta@zf.ro