"The dynamics of the underwriting activity was positive in the first nine months of 2024, compared to the same period of the previous year, up by 11%, supported by both the advance in gross premiums written by companies authorized by the ASF (+9%) and the increase in the volume of gross premiums written by branches operating in Romania (+25%)," the report said.
As regards the solvency of insurance companies authorized and supervised by the ASF, ratios at the level of the insurance market remained above unity at the end of September 2024.
Compared to the same period of the previous year, the SCR ratio decreased, on the back of the faster growth of the Solvency Capital Requirement (+29%) compared to the dynamics of own funds
eligible to cover the Solvency Capital Requirement (+23%).
The liquidity ratio for the general insurance business (2.99) decreased slightly compared to the situation at the end of 2023 (3.14). The value of liquid assets increased by 14% and insurers' short-term liabilities increased by 20%. For life insurance business, the indicator increased. The improvement in liquidity for the life insurance business occurred on the back of a 15% increase in liquid assets, while short-term liabilities increased at a slower pace (+13%) compared to end-2023.
Total gross claims paid (including branches) amounted to around RON 8 billion in the first nine months of 2024, of which 82% are gross claims paid for general insurance business and 18% for life insurance.
The total value of insurance companies' investments (including assets held for unitlinked) amounted to RON 30.6 billion, up 13.5% from end-2023.
"Insurance companies in Romania invest predominantly in fixed-income instruments, mainly in government bonds, which account for about 66% of the total value of investments as of September 30, 2024," the ASF report said.
The share of investments in government bonds increased by 3.3% in total investments, on the back of a 19% increase in the value of investments in government securities. At the end of the third quarter of 2024, the value of technical reserves under Solvency II stood at RON 21.4 billion, up 29% from the same period a year earlier. The positive dynamics were supported by both an increase in the value of technical reserves for general insurance business (+33%) and an increase in the value of reserves set aside for life insurance business (+23%). Of the total value of technical reserves, 58% are set aside for general insurance business and 42% for life insurance business.
The value of premiums distributed by brokerage companies to Romanian and foreign insurers (general and life insurance) increased by around 14.2%, on the back of the increase in the volume of premiums
distributed for both segments (general insurance +13.8% and life insurance +24.8%) compared to the same period of the previous year. In the first nine months of 2024, companies
brokerage companies distributed around 69% of the total volume of gross written premiums for Romanian and foreign insurers, with the largest share still held by general insurance (82%).
On the insurance market in Romania, 25 companies are authorized by ASF to conduct business, and 14 branches operate under the Freedom of Establishment.
