Insurance market developments in the first 9 months of 2023

Bucharest, 5 February 2024 – Insurance companies authorised and regulated by the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) wrote gross written premiums (GWP) of approximately RON 13.1 billion in the first nine months of 2023, an increase of almost 9% compared to the same period last year. The Romanian insurance market remains oriented towards general insurance activity, which holds a share of 83% of the total gross premiums written by insurance companies authorised and regulated by ASF, remaining at a similar level to that recorded in the same period last year. The value of gross written premiums for general insurance business increased by 8.5% in the first nine months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, while the value of gross written premiums for life insurance business increased by 9.4%.

Market-wide, solvency ratios (SCR - Solvency Capital Requirement ratio, MCR - Minimum Capital Requirement ratio) were overunited at the end of September 2023. Therefore, the ratio of own funds eligible to cover the Solvency Capital Requirement to the Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR ratio) at insurance market level was 174%, while the MCR ratio was 397%. Compared to September 30, 2022, at the end of the third quarter of 2023, the SCR ratio increased by approximately 1% and the MCR increased by approximately 7%.

As at 30 September 2023, 25 insurance companies, authorised and regulated by ASF, were active on the insurance market, of which 13 were engaged only in general insurance (GI), 6 were engaged only in life insurance (LI) and 6 in composite business. 

Gross written premiums GI+LI

Gross written premiums (GWP) for general insurance amounted to approximately RON 10.9 billion in the January-September 2023 period, up 8.5% compared to the same period last year, while GWP for life insurance (LI) amounted to approximately RON 2.2 billion, up 9.4% compared to the first three quarters of 2022.

Gross claims paid (GI+LI)

In the period January - September 2023, insurance companies reported gross claims paid - GCP (excluding maturities and partial and full surrenders), cumulatively for the two categories of insurance (GI+LI), in the amount of approximately RON 4.9 billion.

Of this amount, RON 4.6 billion represents GCP for general insurance contracts (almost 94%), up by about 6% compared to the same period last year. For the life insurance segment, insurers reported GCP of RON 266 million, up about 10% compared to the first nine months of 2022. Life insurance gross claims are added to maturities, partial and total surrenders, all cumulated in the amount of RON 796 million, down about 15% compared to the same period last year.

Claim rate

The combined claim ratio, calculated on aggregate data for all classes of general insurance, stood at around 94% at the end of the third quarter of 2023, down from 101% in the same period last year.

MTPL market

The total value of insurance premiums written for MTPL insurance by companies authorised and regulated by ASF amounted to approximately RON 5.4 billion in the period January - September 2023, the remainder up to the total of class A10 (RON 5.527 billion) representing the carrier's insurance for goods transported as a carrier and MTPL insurance written in the territory of other EU Member States under the right of freedom to provide services. Compared to the same period last year, the value of gross premiums written increased by about 1%. Including the activity carried out by branches, the volume of gross written premiums in the first nine months of 2023 amounted to RON 6.3 billion, an increase of about 10% compared to the volume of underwriting in the first nine months of 2022 (RON 5.7 billion including branches).

In the first nine months of 2023, the largest shares were held by 12-month (about 86%), 1-month (8.5%) and 6-month (4.45%) policies respectively.

Across the market as a whole, the average annualised MTPL premium increased by 5% in the first nine months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, reaching RON 1,209. 

Between January and September 2023, insurance companies authorised and regulated by ASF made payments for approximately 217,000 claims, resulting in an average claim of around RON 10,750.

The average MTPL claim paid for bodily injury in the first nine months of 2023 decreased compared to the same period last year by more than 11% and that for property damage increased by about 13.6%.

In the first nine months of 2023, MTPL insurers, authorized and supervised by ASF, concluded a total of 377,502 direct settlement clauses, with gross written premiums of RON 68,229,462. At the end of the third quarter of last year, 459,865 direct settlement clauses were in force.

The report on the Romanian insurance market developments in the first 9 months of 2023 can be found HERE ( in Romanian)