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Published: October 26, 2024 | By Rachel Kim, World-Today-News.com
Austria‘s Financialโ Market Authority โฃ(FMA) has reported a significant increase in โฃinsurance premiums for the first half of 2024. Total offset premiums reached EUR 13.25 billion,โค markingโข a 4.7% rise compared to the same period last โyear.
Damage and accidentโ insurance accounted forโข the largest portionโ of this growth, generating EUR 8.78 billion in premiums – a 4.4% increase. Health insurance also saw significant gains, climbing โ8.9% to EUR 1.717 billion. Life insurance premiumsโ totaled EUR 2.73 billion, a โ3.7% increase, largely driven by a 29% surge in one-off premiums, which amounted to EUR 433โ million.
Ordinary Business Resultsโ showโค Strong Enhancement
The results from ordinary business operations demonstrated even more impressive growth, increasing by 62% to EUR 1.735 billion. Damage/accident insurance led the way with a 59% increase to EUR 1.464 billion. Health insurance experienced nearly a tripling of results, reaching EUR 155.4 million, while life insurance saw โขa 23%โค increase to EUR 115.8 million.
International Expansion Fuelsโฃ Growth
Austrian insurance โgroups – including Grawe, Merkur, Uniqa, Vienna Insurance Group (VIG), and Wรผstenrot – are increasinglyโ looking abroad for โคgrowth. Net premiums from international operations increased by 11% toโข EUR 12.9 billion in 2024. Currently, foreign business represents 55% of overall premium โincome, exceeding domestic business.
The Czech Republic and Poland remain key markets for these groups. The VIG reported โคoverall bonuses of EUR 13.5 billion, while UNIQA reached EUR 7.5 billion. Notably, the VIG experienced a doubling of its premium volume in Turkey, whileโ Uniqa completed its withdrawal from the Russian market.
FMA Highlights Stability of Foreign Markets
The FMA emphasized the role of international business as a stable โฃgrowth driver, particularly in the face โofโฃ ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. The authority noted that,for several groups,foreign operations are delivering higher profitability than their domestic counterparts.
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