UNSAR: Life insurance subscriptions up 11.6pct in Q1 to over 688 million lei

The volume of gross written premiums in the life insurance segment saw an increase of 11.6pct in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period last year, exceeding the level of 688 million lei, according to the latest sociological research conducted by the National Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Societies of Romania (UNSAR) together with IRES.

"In the first three months of this year, Romanians chose the protection offered by life insurance, more than they did in each of the similar periods of the last 5 years. Thus, the volume of gross written premiums for this segment saw an increase of 11.6pct compared to the first quarter of 2020, exceeding the level of 688 million lei," reads the press release.

In fact, almost a third of Romanians would place their financial resources in life insurance, by 6 percentage points more than in 2020, the authors of the research claim.

Thus, the first three reasons that would determine Romanians who have not yet taken out life insurance are higher incomes (35pct), an unhappy experience of an acquaintance whose family was affected (31pct ) and better information about insurance benefits (27pct).

However, according to UNSAR, the share of life insurance in the total relevant sector in Romania is at a modest level compared to the other reference states of the European Union. If in Romania life insurance accounted for about 19pct of the market in 2020, with an average in Central and Eastern European countries of over 31pct, in other European countries the percentage exceeds 50pct - which still indicates the great potential of the local market, but especially the deficit of protection of the population in our country.

"The fundamental role of life insurance is to provide financial protection as well as long-term ways of saving. The development of this sector could support a balanced society, less financially vulnerable," said Adrian Marin, head of UNSAR.

INSAR representatives argue that better consumer access to protection, savings and investment instruments could lead to a stronger level of accountability and a reduction in the protection deficit.

UNSAR - The National Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies in Romania was established in 1994 and represents 20 companies. They account for about 80pct of the local insurance market. UNSAR's activity aims to defend and represent the interests of insurers and reinsurers in Romania, to participate in improving the legislative framework in the field of insurance, to promote the insurance activity in Romania and to promote the most sustainable development of the profile industry domestically and internationally.

Since 2007, UNSAR has been a full member of the Federation of European Insurers and Reinsurers.