This means almost three quarters of the gross written premiums of these companies went back to customers as claims. The level of claims creates pressure on the insurers’ operations, which have been unable to grow their business in the last three years.
Several insurance companies even reported double-digit decline in gross written premiums during the crisis while claims settled kept getting higher and higher.
The nine largest insurers settled the bulk of claims, RON4.2 billion. Claims account for 73% of total premiums on average, going from a low of 55% (Astra) to more than 100% (Omniasig).
The UNSAR members make up more than 85% of the general insurance market, therefore the figures reflect the performance of the entire insurance industry in 2012.
The general insurance premiums UNSAR members collected last year amounted to more than RON6 billion.
“We cannot talk about an alarming situation here, because a 70% rate shows a good claim level. Moreover, insurance companies are protected by reinsurance. What is alarming is the very high frequency of auto claims,” said Cristian Fugaciu, general manager of insurance broker Marsh.
Many insurance companies are in the red because most of their business comes from sales of car insurance policies. In mid last year, the combined auto liability policy claim rate stood at about 140%, which means insurers lost RON40 with every RON100 policy sold.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)