Explosive increase in premium production

By Leonidas Stergiou

Net inflows of € 200 million in insurance products led to an increase in premium production of more than 9% in the nine months January-September 2021. The inflow of new funds mainly concerns life insurance policies linked to investments, while the loss sector is characterized by strong changes and transfers of contracts due to the restart of the economy.

The environment of low interest rates and the increase of savings have led a part of the time deposits in bank insurance products. In the nine months of January – September 2021, an inflow and corresponding production of insurance premiums related to investment products amounting to 180 million euros was recorded. Thus, the life sector increased by 14.4%, compared to the corresponding period of 2020. Banking and insurance executives note that this size is going to increase in the next period, as higher yields are not expected from deposits and bonds. . In addition, there will be new products that will be more relevant to new customers (aged – around 30-35 years), who according to quality research keep their distance from investments and especially from those related to stocks and complex structures. They also add that at present, most of the money from deposits has been directed to mutual funds and this trend is observed by older customers (over 60-65 years).

According to executives of the insurance market, the loss sector is of great interest, where there, the large changes between the various categories reflect the opening of the economy and the estimates of companies for the coming period. Indicatively, the following changes that occurred in the production of insurance premiums in the nine months January – September are reported:

The aircraft industry was almost eliminated from the insurance map, showing a decrease of 99.6%. At the same time, insurance for the transport of goods, damage to goods, and other insurance coverages related to the transport of goods (eg by ship or land) show an increase of 15-20%.

Other sectors related to economic activity are those of civil liability, credit, guarantees, financial losses and legal protection, where the increases are close to 24%.

The accident industry showed an increase in premium production by 2.5%.

The disease sector also recorded a double-digit increase (12.4%), which is also related to the epidemiological development and the pressure that hospitals are receiving.