Insurer shareholders come up with 300m-euro worth of “fresh money”

The shareholders of insurance companies operated capital inflows worth 300-350 million euros last year as support for their business, considering the stakes on this market are huge, given the high growth potential expected after the economy rebounds.

The share capital of insurers is therefore close to 1 billion euros, accounting for almost one third of the total share capital of the banking system, 3.3 billion euros (November 2009). Insurance companies have been criticised lately, for the constant rise in the price of mandatory auto liability insurance, the policies that generate most of the business, as well as the highest losses along with comprehensive auto insurance. Auto liability insurance rates will continue to go up, though, because the shareholders of insurers rely on them to recoup the hundreds of millions of euros invested.