Romania’s life insurance market expected to increase by less than 5% in 2014

Romania’s life insurance market will end 2013 below the level reached in the previous year and is expected to increase by less than five percent in 2014, Marius Popescu, general manager of ING Asigurari de Viata told local news agency Mediafax. In 2012, the life insurance market had a value of RON 1.8 billion (some EUR 404 million), up 3.6 percent from the previous year. In the first nine months of the year, ING Asigurari de Viata subscribed premiums of RON 408 million (around EUR 92 million), close to the level recorded in the same period of 2012, while the gross profit amounted to RON 13.6 million (EUR 3 million). The insurance industry has stagnated in the first nine months of 2013 mainly due to the 4.49 decrease in written premiums for life insurance. However, general insurance premiums increased by 1.3 percent, to RON 4.9 billion (some EUR 1.1 billion). ING Asigurari de Viata is part of ING Group and is active on the Romanian market since 1997. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com