CSA: Insurance Market Fell 6.6% To RON2.14B In 1Q

05.12.2011 By Gavrila Oana

Romania’s insurance market declined 6.6% in the first quarter of the year, to 2.14 billion lei (EUR530 million), driven by a 8.8% drop in general insurance, to RON1.71 billion, according to data released Thursday by the country’s insurance regulator CSA.

In the first quarter of 2010, revenues from insurance premiums declined 5.3%, to RON2.29 billion.

According to CSA data, revenues from underwritten life insurance premiums totaled RON433.83 billion in the first quarter, up 3.3% compared to the first quarter in 2010.

Civil liability car insurance RCA accounted for 39.1% of the general insurance segment, from 43.6%, and revenues from underwritten premiums stood at RON667.75 million, down 18.2% from the first quarter of 2010.

"Considering clients' purchasing power, insurers have lowered premium prices for RCA policies, which has lowered this segment's weight in the general insurance segment to 39.1%," said CSA president Angela Toncescu.

A similar decline, of 18.7%, was posted by the voluntary car insurance segment, CASCO, which posted revenues of RON486.97 million, from RON598.93 million in the first quarter of last year. The share of CASCO insurance dropped to 28.5% from 31.9%.

Revenues from insurance against fire and natural disasters increased 22.8%, to RON326.76 million, and this segment's market share gained nearly five percentage points, reaching 19.1%.

"Revenues from home insurance premiums have increased 34.1%, to RON164.58 million. The number of contracts valid at the end of March exceeded the 2.7 million threshold, and nearly 480,000 of these are mandatory home insurance policies," said Toncescu.

On the life insurance segment, unit-linked policies declined 10.5%, to RON160.64 million, while traditional life insurance policies increased 13.6%, to RON263.4 million.

Romanian insurers paid damage claims totaling RON1.26 billion in the first quarter, down 6.3% on the year.

Last year, Romania's insurance market declined 5.7%, to RON8.36 billion, the second year of decline in a row. (EUR1=RON4.0842)