EVOLUTION OF INSURANCE MARKET IN 2023

Insurance companies authorised and regulated by the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) wrote gross written premiums (GWP) of approximately RON 18.2 billion in 2023, an increase of 10% compared to the previous year.   The Romanian insurance market remains oriented towards general insurance, which accounts for 84% of total gross premiums written by insurance companies authorised and regulated by ASF, remaining at a level similar to that recorded in 2022. Gross written premiums for general insurance business increased by around 10% in 2023 compared to 2022, while gross written premiums for life insurance business increased by 12%. Market-wide, solvency ratios (SCR - Solvency Capital Requirement Ratio and MCR - Minimum Capital Requirement) were overunited at the end of December 2023. Therefore, the ratio of own funds eligible to cover the Solvency Capital Requirement to the Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR ratio) at insurance market level was 168%, while the MCR ratio was 368%.   At the end of 2023, 25 insurance companies, authorised and regulated by ASF, were active in the insurance market, of which 13 were engaged only in general insurance (GI), 6 were engaged only in life insurance (LI) and 6 in composite business.   Gross written premiums GI+LI   Gross written premiums (GWP) for general insurance amounted to around RON 15.2 billion in 2023, an increase of 10% compared to the previous year, and GWP for life assurance (LI) amounted to around RON 3 billion, up by 12% compared to 2022.     Gross claims paid (GI+LI)   Insurance companies reported in 2023 gross claims paid - GCP (excluding amounts paid by the Policyholder Guarantee Fund), cumulatively for the two categories of insurance (GI+LI), in the amount of approximately RON 7.71 billion.   Of this amount, RON 6.28 billion represents GCP for general insurance contracts (more than 81%), an increase of about 1% compared to 2022. For the life insurance segment, insurers reported amounts paid for gross claims, maturities and total and partial surrenders of RON 1.43 billion, down by about 8% compared to the previous year.   Loss ratio   The combined damage rate, calculated on aggregate data for all classes of general insurance, stood at around 89.4% at the end of 2023, down from 91.5% in 2022.   The MTPL market   The total value of insurance premiums written for MTPL insurance by companies authorised and regulated by ASF amounted to approximately RON 7.9 billion in 2023, the remainder up to the total of class A10 (RON 8.01 billion) representing the carrier's insurance for goods transported as a carrier and MTPL insurance written in the territory of other EU Member States under the right of freedom to provide services.   Compared to the previous year, the value of gross written premiums increased by approximately 6%. If we include the activity carried out by branches, the volume of gross written premiums in 2023 amounted to about RON 9.3 billion, up by about 16% compared to the volume of underwriting for 2022 (about RON 8 billion, including branches).   The largest shares were held in 2023 by policies with a 12-month (about 86%), one-month (8%) and six-month (4%) maturity respectively.   Across the market as a whole, the average annualised MTPL premium on 31 December 2023 was around RON 1,219, up by 7% compared to 2022.   In 2023, insurance companies authorised and regulated by ASF made payments of around RON 3.1 billion for around 292,000 claims, resulting in an average claim of RON 10,750, up by 8% compared to the previous year.   The average MTPL claim paid for bodily injury in 2023 was around RON 76,741 (down over 11% from 2022) and the average MTPL claim paid for property damage was RON 8,867 (up by over 8% from 2022).    In 2023, MTPL insurers, authorised and supervised by ASF, concluded a total of 491,230 direct settlement clauses, with gross written premiums relating to them amounting to RON 90,093,462. As at 31 December 2023, 472,243 direct settlement clauses were in force. (Source:https://www.asfromania.ro/)