The insurance market ended 2023 with subscriptions of 18.2 billion lei, plus 10% compared to 2022

The volume of gross premiums written for the life insurance segment recorded an advance of 12% in 2023 compared to 2022, the positive evolution being mainly supported by the approximately 50% increase in subscriptions for class C3, meaning life insurance and annuities, linked to funds of investments, partially offset by the decrease in the volume of gross premiums written for class C1, meaning life insurance, annuities and additional life insurance.

Last year, the high dependence of the local market on car insurance, namely Casco and RCA insurance, was maintained, representing 76% of the total gross premiums subscribed for the general insurance activity and 64% of the total gross premiums subscribed by the insurance companies authorized by the FSA in the year 2023.

“A vulnerability of the insurance market in Romania remains the high degree of concentration, both from the perspective of exposure to the main classes of insurance, and from the point of view of the significant size of the market shares held by a relatively small number of insurance companies”, says the ASF in the latest report on the evolution of the insurance market in 2023, quoted by Ziarul Financiar.

The value of the gross premiums subscribed for car insurance, Casco and RCA was around 13 billion lei in 2023, of which 28% of the volume was subscribed for optional car insurance, and 72% represents subscriptions related to compulsory car insurance.

The degree of concentration is high both on the voluntary car insurance market and on the one related to compulsory car insurance (RCA). Thus, the first three insurance companies add up to a market share of 74% from the perspective of the volume of gross premiums written for the Casco class, without branches. The first three companies on the RCA market hold a cumulative share of 57% of the RCA insurance portfolio in Romania, which also includes the branches. This dominance is decreasing compared to previous periods, on the basis of the advance recorded by the gross premiums subscribed by the two branches operating in this segment.

Health insurance registered a positive dynamic in 2023, with a volume of subscriptions by companies authorized by the FSA of around 813 million lei, up 21.5% compared to 2022. The gross premiums subscribed for health insurance have a weight of 4.5% in the total of gross premiums subscribed by the companies authorized and regulated by the ASF, an increasing share compared to the similar period of the previous year. The number of new contracts concluded in 2023 was around 250,000, a level similar to that recorded in 2022.

The gross compensations paid by the companies authorized and regulated by the ASF stood at 7.7 billion lei in 2023, down by about 1% compared to 2022, of which 6.3 billion lei were paid for the insurance activity general and 1.4 billion lei for the life insurance activity, including the amounts paid for maturities and redemptions. Separated from the gross compensations paid by the companies authorized by the ASF, the total value of the sums approved for the payment of claims in 2023 by the Insurance Guarantee Fund (FGA) was approximately 872 million lei.