Head of Groupama: New business is close to zero

Groupama, one of the biggest insurance companies on the Romanian market, which resulted from the merger of insurers Asiban, BT Asigurari, and OTP Garancia, relies on bancassurance partnerships this year, one of the main growth drivers in a year when the market is faring very poorly, says Denis Rousset, the company's general manager.

At present, Groupama has contracts sealed with BRD, OTP, CEC, and Banca Transilvania banks.

Partnerships with banks fetch 27% of Groupama's business, a higher ratio than before. The share of own agents in the overall business is 26%, less than before, while brokerage (29%) and direct sales (18%) are stagnating.

In the first quarter of this year, Groupama (held by the French group by the same name) saw its underwritten premiums down 10%, to 194.6 million RON (46 million euros). General insurance totalled 178.6 million RON, with the remaining contracts being life insurance policies. Claims settled by Groupama amounted to 158 million RON.

"The market is very difficult, unemployment has risen, while the standard of living has fallen. (...) People are no longer buying cars, the decline in car registrations is incredible, leasing is not budging, neither is lending, there are no new plants opening up, while many SMEs are closing. Under the circumstances, new business is close to zero," Rousset told ZF in an interview.