Generali turns to life insurance

Generali, the leading life-insurer in Europe, is planning to become one of the top players on the Romanian life insurance market over the next few years, although the largest Western European and US insurance companies have already entered this market.

“We want a complete change in strategy for the branch in Romania, where we have only followed the multinational companies’ market in general, so far,” Werner Moertel, Board member of the Generali Holding Vienna, which holds 72.9% in Romanian company Generali Asigurari, told Ziarul Financiar.

Moertel is now the official in charge with CEE divisions of the group, which account for 15% of the total premiums of Generali Vienna Group at the moment.

“The growth potential on the Austrian market is obviously limited, so that we are concentrating on the new CEE emerging markets, with a special focus on life insurance here,” Generali Holding Vienna chairman, Dr. Dietrich Karner, said on Monday.

Total premiums collected by Generali Vienna Group, all its companies in Austria and CEE included, went up 6% in 2000, reaching 2.4bn euros, while the group’s companies in the CEE increased between 27% (Generali Providencia – the second leading life insurer in Hungary) and 94% (Generali SKB, Slovenia).

As regards Romania, Generali Asigurari collected premiums worth nearly 8 million euros last year, that is a 46% increase in relation to the previous year, which accounts for about 3% of the non-life insurance market.