Insurance market close to 450m euros in Q1

Insurance companies operating on the Romanian market in the first three months of this year underwrote gross premiums totalling 446.4 million euros (1.58 billion RON), stated Nicolae Crisan, chairman of the Insurance Supervision Commission (CSA), during the Insurance Reinsurance International Forum 2006 in Sinaia yesterday.

“Preliminary Q1 figures are confirming the trend of the market, given that the gross premiums in the first three months account for 35% in total premiums posted by the market in 2005,” said CSA chairman.

The general insurance segment accounted for 367.1 million euros (82%) in the total volume of the market in Q1, while life policies brought insurance companies gross underwritten premiums worth 79.3 million euros. The number of insurance policies in effect at the end of the first quarter amounted to 12.3 million, specified Crisan.

At the same time, the volume of gross indemnities paid by insurers reached 168 million euros (595 million RON), of which the general insurance market accounted for 95%.

Last year, the insurance market was worth 1.22 billion euros (4.416 billion RON), of which gross underwritten premiums from direct insurance made 1.21 billion euros. The segment of general insurance registered total gross underwritten premiums worth 926 million euros (over 74% of the market), with the remaining 286 million euros coming from the life insurance market, the CSA representative said during the presentation of the final market data for 2005.

The insurance market in 2005 had a pace of growth in euros of more than 40%, but in real terms the increase was by only 17.5%. Real term growth was faster on the life insurance segment (28.1%) than the general insurance market, which registered only 14.6% in real terms.

Gross indemnities insurers paid to customers in 2005 amounted to 486 million euros. This means gross indemnities were faster to increase than the volume of gross underwritten premiums, going up by 23.5%.

Insurance market

* Insurers underwrote gross premiums totalling 446.4m euros in Q1

* Preliminary Q1 data confirm the market”s trend, with Q1 gross premiums accounting for 35% in total premiums posted in 2005

* In 2005 advanced by more than 40% in euros, but by a mere 17.5% in real terms

* In 2005, 31 of the 42 firms on the market registered net profit.

mihai.bobocea@zf.ro