For instance, insurance companies sold financial loss insurance policies worth 7 million lei (EUR1.6 million) in January-March 2014, up 40% on the year-ago period. Although the financial loss insurance increased at the fastest pace of all, the total gross written premiums continue to account for very little of the market, less than 1%.
On the other hand, the auto liability policies (RCA), which account for almost half of the premiums collected by insurers, continued to increase, this time by 10% in the first quarter of 2014 to RON744 million.
“There are still insurance companies, which charge very low tariffs and use the revenue on auto liability segment to meet temporary needs, but this is not a sustainable business model,” says Misu Negritoiu, chairman of the ASF.
A Romanian motorist who got an auto liability policy in the first three months of the year paid RON468 for it on average, RON6 more than in the same time last year.
Mandatory policies and especially auto liability insurance policies were among the few segments that kept the business of the local insurance companies going during the crisis. On the other hand, insurers are unable to boost sales of comprehensive auto insurance and contain the decline. Gross comprehensive insurance premiums written were about 1% lower in the first quarter, reaching RON418 million.
Hazard insurance policies, too, went down, with gross written premiums 9% lower to RON246 million at the end of March.
Insurers posted gross written premiums of RON2 billion in the first three months of the year, 2% lower than in the same time last year. Most of the amount, over 80% or RON1.6 billion lei came from general insurance.
Whereas gross premiums written on the general insurance segment dropped 2%, the life insurance segment saw an even higher decline, 9%.
Health insurance was the only life insurance segment that posted growth in gross written premiums in the first quarter of 2014.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)