Generali posts 9% lower gross premiums on drop in general insurances, sees growth on life insurance

Insurance company Generali posted a volume of gross subscribed premiums of EUR 78.4 million in the first nine months of the year, down 9 percent compared to the same period last year. The insurer saw however growth on its life insurance segment, with a growth of 6.4 percent. In September alone, the volume of gross subscribed premiums on the life insurance segment was up 41 percent compared to the same month in 2009. The company posted EUR 15.1 million of gross subscribed premiums on life insurance. The general insurances segment dropped by 12 percent , mainly due to the drop on the auto segment, the decline of the leasing market and due to clients giving up on their Casco policies. “Unfortunately, we are active on a market still dominated by car insurance, which is the opposite compared to mature European markets. […] We managed to drop the weight of the car insurance from our portfolio by 5 percentage points during this period, while growing the weight of other types of insurances[...],” said Marie Kovářová, general manager of Generali Asigurari (in picture). The company has also taken measures to reduce the cancellation rate of existing insurance policies, which dropped by 15 percent, according to Kovářová. Generali plans to focus on products like home insurance, touristic assistance, corporate insurances and insurances for property damages. editor@romania-insider.com