Allianz-Tiriac study: Half of Romanians would face a major financial shortfall in an emergency

Health and family are the top priorities Romanians want to protect, but most would not have the money they believe they would need in an emergency. Some 45% estimate they would need at least RON 20,000 to cope with an accident, illness, or other unexpected event, while 51% say they would have immediate access to less than a quarter of that amount. Only 10% could fully cover the sum they believe they would need, according to a study commissioned by Allianz-Tiriac and conducted by the Centre for Urban and Regional Sociology (CURS) on a nationwide sample of 1,218 respondents.   The gap is particularly striking given that people are clear about what matters most to them. Some 61% of Romanians say their own or their family’s health is among the most important things they want insurance to protect. This is followed by their own life or that of loved ones (56%), family income and financial stability (44%), and only then their home (39%) and car (33%).   In practice, coverage remains limited. Some 48% say they only have compulsory insurance, such as motor, home, or life insurance linked to a loan, while 13% have no insurance at all. Only 15% say they have a plan protecting themselves and their loved ones against several types of risk. The imbalance is visible in the market: Romania has nearly 6 million compulsory motor insurance policies and 2.4 million compulsory home insurance policies, compared with almost 2.3 million life insurance contracts and only around 279,000 health insurance policies, according to the latest data from the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF).   For many people, attitudes towards protection change only after a difficult experience. Almost half of respondents say that a health problem affecting themselves, their family, or someone close to them made them think more seriously about the need for protection. For 27%, the trigger was an accident, for 23% emergency surgery, and for 22% a death in the family.   “People know what matters to them and what they want to protect: their health, their family, and the stability of those close to them. The problem appears when something unexpected happens and we see how wide the gap can be between the money we need and the money we actually have available. Protection is built before we need it and means not only getting through a difficult situation more easily, but also giving those close to us greater long-term security. Insurance does not eliminate risks, but it can prevent a difficult event from also becoming a financial problem for the family,” said Virgil Soncutean, CEO of Allianz-Tiriac Asigurari.   The stakes are high because such events can often bring costs that are difficult to handle using the family budget. Some 45% of Romanians estimate they would need at least RON 20,000 to cope with an accident, illness, or other emergency, while 9% put the amount at more than RON 100,000.   The average protection gap for a Romanian family exceeds RON 165,000, representing the additional funds a household would need, beyond its available financial resources, to cope with a serious event, according to data from the National Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies in Romania (UNSAR).   For many families, the issue is not only the size of the amount, but also how quickly it can be accessed. Some 51% of respondents say they would only be able to immediately access at most a quarter of their estimated needs available, while only 10% could cover the full amount.   For half of Romanians, an emergency could therefore begin with a significant financial shortfall. When their own money is insufficient, the alternatives often place further pressure on family finances. Some 26% say they would rely on existing savings, even if these covered only part of the amount needed, 22% would ask family or friends for support, and 18% would take out a bank loan.   Only 8% say they would rely on insurance, even though this form of protection can provide immediate access to the funds needed in an emergency, unlike savings that may take years to build.   Some 67% estimate it would take them at least three years to save the amount they believe they would need. Against this backdrop, 46% say they would prefer to pay a smaller monthly or quarterly insurance premium that would give them access to the full insured amount if a covered risk occurred, compared with 33% who would prefer to save and 21% who would turn to borrowing.   The study was conducted nationwide in March 2026 on a sample of 1,218 respondents, representative of Romania’s resident adult population. It used the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing) method and has a maximum margin of error of +/-2.8%, at a 95% confidence level.