Insurer Premium Lower for the Third Consecutive Month Compared to Last Year in the Same Months

The gross premium charged by 24 insurance companies at the end of March this year amounted to 2.53 billion kuna, which is 0.47 lower than at the end of March last year, according to data from the Croatian Insurance Bureau.

The total premium is thus lower for the third consecutive month compared to the same months last year, due to a lower gross premium charged in life insurance, while non-life insurance is recording growth. During the previous year, however, the situation was reversed, with lower premiums recorded in the non-life insurance segment, primarily as a result of lower prices of mandatory motor insurance policies, following the liberalization of that market segment.

Data from the Croatian Insurance Bureau shows that in the non-life insurance segment, the gross premium charged at the end of March this year amounted to 1.72 billion kuna, which is 0.2 percent higher than the premium at the end of March last year. At the same time, the premium in the life insurance segment amounts to 804.8 million kuna and is 1.88 percent lower compared to last March.

When viewed by types of insurance, in March, the highest premium was for classic life insurance, amounting to 596.3 million kuna, which is 18.9 percent lower than at the end of March last year. In life insurance products, a pronounced growth in the charged premium, by as much as 119 percent, to 15 million kuna, is recorded in annuity insurance, as well as in life or annuity insurance where the policyholder bears the investment risk, where the annual growth amounts to as much as 308.5 percent – from 38.3 to 156.7 million kuna.

In the non-life insurance segment, the usual largest share of the total premium is held by liability insurance for the use of motor vehicles, with a gross premium amount at the end of March of 483.7 million kuna, which is 6 percent lower than last year. This is still a consequence of the liberalization of that market segment, namely the reduction of prices for mandatory motor insurance policies, which is evident from the data that the premium in mandatory insurance for owners or users of motor vehicles for liability for damages to third parties in March this year amounted to 456.5 million kuna and was 7.5 percent lower than a year earlier.

Statistics by insurance companies show that Croatia osiguranje still holds the largest market share, at 32 percent, with 813.3 million kuna in gross premium charged at the end of March. The gross premium charged by Croatia osiguranje has decreased by 8.23 percent on an annual basis, and its market share has also decreased by 2.7 percentage points compared to March last year.

Allianz is second, with a total gross premium charged of 319 million kuna at the end of March, which is a market share of 12.6 percent. Allianz also records an annual decline in the gross premium charged, by 18.2 percent, which has also reduced its market share by 2.7 percentage points. At the same time, Euroherc records a slight increase in gross premium, by 0.6 percent, to almost 187 million kuna, which constitutes a 7.4 percent market share, placing the company in third place in the Croatian insurance market.

The significant decline in life insurance premiums is the result of a stronger decline in premiums at several insurance companies, particularly the two insurers that hold the largest market shares in that segment – Allianz’s premium has decreased by 28.5 percent on an annual basis, to 126.9 million kuna, and Croatia osiguranje’s by 5.2 percent, to 199.7 million kuna. The premium of Uniqa osiguranje has also decreased significantly by 16 percent, which at the end of March with 77.9 million kuna in life insurance premiums was in third place.

Croatia osiguranje holds the leading position in the non-life insurance segment, with 613.6 million kuna in premiums and a market share of 35.6 percent, followed by Allianz (192 million kuna in premiums and 11 percent share) and Euroherc (187 million kuna in premiums and 10.8 percent share). However, even in this segment, Croatia and Allianz are recording lower premiums than last year, by more than 9 percent, while Euroherc’s premium has increased by 0.6 percent.