Austrian insurance undertakings increased their premium volume in the first quarter of 2021 by + 0.35 % to € 5.85 billion compared against the first quarter of 2020. The result from ordinary activities (German: Ergebnis der gewöhnlichen Geschäftstätigkeit (EGT)) increased by € 387.88 mn to € 323.14 mn compared to the 1st Quarter of 2020. The was attributable to the fact that the technical result increased by € 182.06 mn to € 215.60 mn, while the financial result rose by € 665.96 mn to € 535.91 mn. The total of all assets at market value (excluding investments in the area of unit-linked and index-linked life insurance) as at 31 March 2021 stood at € 115.05 billion. These are the findings of the Austrian Financial Market Authority’s (FMA) “Q1 2021 Quarterly Report – Insurance Undertakings”, which was published today.
Broken down by insurance sectors, the development of premiums was positive in the segments non-life and accident insurance, increasing by +2.13% to € 3.79 billion and in health insurance by +2.98% to € 639 million. The premium volume in life insurance fell by -5.18% to € 1.42 billion. Claims incurred stood at € 3.90 billion during the reporting period, which corresponds to a decrease of 2.60% compared to the 1st Quarter 2020.
The yield on turnover (result on ordinary activities to premiums) is a significant indicator of earning capacity, and improved by 798 basis points to +6.66% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021.
The capital base of insurance undertakings remained good: during the reporting period 68% of undertakings had a solvency capital ratio (SCR) of in excess of 200%, meaning that they had twice as high financial means as was necessary to fulfil all commitments. However, the hidden reserves of capital investments (excluding those of funds and index-based life insurance) on a quarter-by-quarter basis fell by -11.51% to € 22.05 billion. At the end of the reporting period the reserve ratio therefore stood at 24.89%.
The full quarterly report can be found on the FMA website (in German only) at https://www.fma.gv.at/versicherungen/offenlegung/quartalsberichte/
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Klaus Grubelnik
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