The local insurance market saw a 6.36% drop in underwritten premiums in 2010, compared with the previous year.
“The insurance market has started to slow its downward trend with respect to the volume of premium subscriptions. The economic recovery and its sustainable growth trend will back, on the medium term, the positive evolution of the insurance industry. However, the economy is not the only setback the insurance market is facing,” insurance regulator head Constantin Buzoianu said. He added companies must become more flexible in order to adjust to consumers’ requirements and meet their expectations.
Voluntary car insurance Casco, mandatory civil liability car insurance policy RCA and insurance against fire and natural disasters account for 84.8% of the total volume of underwritten premiums on the general insurance segment. CASCO insurance policies saw a 17.9% decrease, to RON2.01 billion, while RCA policies saw a 17.3% drop, to RON2.06 billion.
The volume of house insurance premiums, both voluntary and mandatory, amounted to nearly RON676.6 million last year, up 66.8% from 2010. Voluntary house insurance generated underwritten premiums of RON641.2 million last year, up 70.5% from 2010, while mandatory house insurance generated underwritten premiums of RON35.3 million, up 19.5% from 2010. On the life insurance segment, premiums totaled RON1.74 billion last year, up 4.6% from 2010. Traditional policies generated revenues of RON1.07 billion last year, up 6.7% from 2010, while unit-linked insurance fell 0.8%, to RON612.8 million.
In 2011, insurance companies paid damage claims of nearly RON4.5 billion, down 11.78% from 2010. Damage claims for CASCO fell 21.1%, to RON1.98 billion, while for RCA rose 1.8%, to RON1.66 billion.
On the segment of insurance against fire and natural disasters, damage claims fell 4.5%, to RON238.41 million, while on the life insurance segment, damage claims rose 6%, to RON288.1 million. (EUR1=RON4.3480)