2015-11-23
Lithuania’s insurance market, in terms of premiums written over the three quarters of 2015, grew 6.9 per cent, to amount to EUR 463.5 million. Life assurance premiums continue growing fast, although the development of this insurance branch is slower than last year. The non-life insurance branch recorded sustainable growth.
“Growth in the two insurance branches — life assurance and non-life insurance — determined the historically highest volume of insurance. However, strong growth in life assurance decelerated this year, while the development of non-life insurance, with its sluggish start at the beginning of the year, accelerated,” says Mindaugas Šalčius, Deputy Director of the Prudential Supervision Department of the Supervision Service at the Bank of Lithuania.
The development of the life assurance market over the three quarters of 2015 was weaker than a year ago, remaining, however, in the double-digits: the amount of premiums written increased by 11.1 per cent (to EUR 157.4 million). The volume of unit-linked life assurance, which holds the largest share of the life assurance market, boosted by 13.9 per cent (to EUR 109.6 million). Growth within the second largest insurance in case of survival class was much less strong — 2 per cent (to EUR 35 million).
The non-life insurance market boosted by 4.9 per cent, while its premiums written amounted to EUR 306.0 million. In the third quarter of 2015, the volume of premiums written within motor third-party liability insurance, which dominates this insurance branch, dropped by 0.9 per cent, to amount to EUR 103.4 million. This drop was due to a 5.5 per cent decline in the premiums written by legal persons. The amount of premiums written by residents, conversely, increased by 2 per cent. Growth in the non-life insurance market was mainly driven by the Casco, property and health insurance classes, which expanded by 7.5, 11.5 and 15.8 per cent respectively.
Eliminating the impact of a one-off EUR 21 million loss due to the transfer of investments of the Estonia branch of Codan Forsikring A/S, acquired by UAB DK PZU Lietuva in 2014, the insurance undertakings registered in Lithuania earned EUR 8 million in profits over the three quarters of 2015.
As of 30 September 2015, 10 registered insurance undertakings provided insurance services. In the third quarter, the list of these undertakings was extended with UADB Compensa Vienna Insurance Group. As of 30 September 2015, Norway’s insurance company Gjensidige Forsikring ASA completed the transaction concerning the acquisition of the shares of UAB DK PZU Lietuva and now manages two market participants in Lithuania (UAB DK PZU Lietuva and the Gjensidige Forsikring ASA branch in Lithuania).
As of 30 September 2015, 98 insurance brokerage firms were engaged in the insurance mediation activity. Over the three quarters of 2015, insurance brokerage firms acted as intermediaries in concluding 1.14 million insurance contracts and pension accumulation agreements, a year-on-year increase of 9.6 per cent. The income of insurance brokerage firms for the three quarters of 2015 amounted to EUR 25.9 million, boosting by 7.1 per cent year on year.
For the detailed Review of Lithuania’s Insurance Market for Q3 2015 (519.6 KB download icon), financial statements, and investment reports, go to the website of the Bank of Lithuania.