The premiums written by Austrian insurance undertakings increased by +4.29 % to € 6.53 bn during the 1st Quarter of 2023 compared against the 1st Quarter of 2022. During this period the result from ordinary activities (German: Ergebnis der gewöhnlichen Geschäftstätigkeit (EGT)) increased by € 96.06 mn to € 199.00 mn . This was due to the fact that the technical result increased by € 71.19 mn (+ 299.39%) to € 94.97 mn , and the financial result increased by € 274.20 mn (+99.28%) to € 550.38 mn . The total of all assets at market value (excluding capital investments in unit-linked and index-linked life insurance) stood as of 31 March 2023 at € 104.93 bn , a fall by € 6.94 bn or – 6.2% compared with the corresponding value in the previous year. These are the findings of the Austrian Financial Market Authority’s (FMA) “Q1 2023 Quarterly Report – Insurance Undertakings”, which was published today.
Increased earnings, but undisclosed reserves are only recovering slowly
Broken down by insurance classes, the volume of premiums for non-life and accident insurance increased by +8.54% to € 4.46 bn , while the volume of premiums for life insurance increased by 7.69% to € 1.37 bn , and those of health insurance increased by 4.72% to € 703 mn ; these values are compared with those for the 1st quarter of 2022. Claims incurred stood at € 4.25 bn during the reporting period, which corresponds to an increase of 6.81% compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The yield on turnover (result on ordinary activities to premiums) is a significant indicator of earning capacity increased by 171 base points year-on-year, with increases in all balance sheet groups.
The capital base of insurance undertakings remained good: During the reporting period, 90.91% of undertakings reported a solvency capital ratio (SCR) of in excess of 200%, meaning that they had double the financial means as was necessary to fulfil all commitments. The undisclosed reserves of investments (excluding funds- and index-based life insurance) increased by 9.06% to € 11.76 bn compared with the preceding quarter. However, there are still significantly lower than the level of the previous year of € 19.34 bn . At the end of the reporting period the reserve ratio therefore stood at 12.44% (Q1-22: 20.58%).
The full quarterly report can be found on the FMA website (in German only) at https://www.fma.gv.at/versicherungen/offenlegung/quartalsberichte/
Journalists may address further enquiries to:
Klaus Grubelnik
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