Asirom reported premiums of RON627.9 million last year, up 18.3% on 2010, but lower than the RON645 million provided in the income and expense budget.
General insurance made up RON546.1 million, from RON440.33 million in 2010. Life insurance accounted for RON81.8 million, compared with RON85.1 million the year before.
On the general insurance segment, underwritten RCA policies grew by 80.5%, to RON290.98 million, while CASCO policies lost 22%, standing at RON129.96 million. On the property segment, premiums increased by 13.3%, to RON97.82 million.
Last year, Asirom paid RON276.14 million in damage claims on the general insurance segment, down 17.4% on 2010. RCA claims increased by 2.3%, to RON145.02 million, while CASCO claims dropped 33.1%, to RON88.64 million. On the property segment, Asirom paid RON32.9 million in damages, down 39.7%.
Asirom ended 2011 with net profit of RON7.22 million, below the level estimated in the budget, RON39.3 million.
In the first quarter of 2012, underwritten premiums stood at RON171.8 million, including RON148.8 million from general insurance policies. In the same period of 2011, Asirom reported premiums of RON200.7 million, according to data from insurers’ association UNSAR.
“For an insurance company, data on the first quarter is not relevant to its evolution in the entire financial year. The third quarter results are the ones that indicate how the year will end for the company, and in Asirom’s case, December, when the RCA campaign is held, is very important for the business,” said Diaconescu.
Last week, Romania’s insurance regulator, CSA, gave fines worth a total of RON80,000 to seven managers of insurance companies for a growing number of complaints from customers in the first five months of 2012. Maria Diaconescu and Ovidiu Vadan, manager of Asirom’s claims department, were fined RON10,000 each. Diaconescu declined to comment.
Asirom, set up in 1991, has a share capital of RON157.85 million, split into 1.57 billion shares with a face value of RON0.1.
Vienna Insurance Group (Austria) holds an 85.97% stake in Asirom. In Romania, the Austrian group also controls insurer Omniasig (formerly BCR Asigurari). (EUR1=RON4.4587)