VIG business down 12.8% to 536m euros last year

Austrian insurer Vienna Insurance Group (VIG), which controls Omniasig, Asirom, BCR Asigurări and BCR Asigurări de Viaţă on the Romanian market, underwrote gross premiums of 536 million euros from operations conducted in Romania, 12.8% less than in 2009. Financial data are preliminary, having yet to be audited.

The company's turnover was affected by the decline of gross premiums underwritten on the general insurance segment, which fell by 16%, while life policies went up by 8.2%. General insurance premiums amounted to a total of 442.5 million euros, while life insurance premiums reached 93.5 million euros.
"The increase of life insurance businesses can be largely attributed to distribution of its products through the banking channel," reveals a report of the Austrian group. The growth was achieved by BCR Asigurări de Viaţă, which sells its life insurance products with a savings component through the network of BCR, the biggest Romanian bank, with around 4 million customers. The insurer's sales went up last year thanks to a savings product with a single premium and capital guarantee. In fact, the aggregate 3% growth recorded on the life insurance market in the first nine months of 2010 was driven by single-premium insurance launched by several companies, while most players recorded declines.