Thursday, 22 December 2011
European premiums up in 2010 despite economic woes—CEA
European insurers managed to increase total gross written premiums in both the life and non-life sectors in 2010, according to figures released this week by the CEA, the European insurance and reinsurance federation.
Michaela Koller
The CEA reported that provisional figures for 2010 show that the gross premiums written totalled €1,104bn, a growth of 2.5% at constant exchange rates over 2009.
European insurers’ total investment portfolio in 2010 reached more than €7,400bn.
“In these turbulent times, Europe’s insurers continue to provide a unique function as both risk absorbers and long-term investors,” said Michaela Koller, Director General of the CEA.
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“These latest figures show both the importance European consumers place on insuring themselves against risk and also the importance of insurers to Europe’s economy. As an industry that provides security and is intrinsically resilient to short-term financial turmoil, the value of European insurance should never be underestimated,” she added.
Life premiums account for 60% of total gross written premiums and amounted to €676bn, up 2.5% on 2009. Non-life premiums grew 2.7% year-on-year to €428bn.
Within the non-life sector, growth in health cover was particularly strong at 5.9%. This confirms that health insurance continues to be one of the most dynamic business lines, as insurers continue to help ease the burden of ageing populations and rising medical costs faced by state systems, commented the CEA.
In 2010, an average of €1,879 was spent on insurance in the 32 full member countries represented by the CEA. Of this, €1,150 was spent on life insurance and the remaining €729 on non-life insurance, of which €184 was on health cover.
The figures are published in ‘CEA Statistics No44: European Insurance in Figures’, which is available to download from the CEA’s website, www.cea.eu
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