Covéa has reported a net income of €1.48 billion in 2023, up from €896 million in 2022, mainly driven by its reinsurance result, which was bolstered by the full-year integration of PartnerRe.
Covéa’s net income from reinsurance activities in 2023 was €1.08 billion, up from €857 million in the previous year. PartnerRe generated income of €1.46 billion in 2023, while Covéa Coopérations’ reinsurance business made a net loss of €380 million.
In non-life reinsurance, the firm’s underwriting result amounted to €1.02 billion and the combined ratio was 84.2%, as opposed to 91.0% in 2022.
Covéa explained that the improvement was due to limited claims arising from natural events and a lower attritional claims ratio.
Meanwhile, the firm’s total earned premiums in 2023 were €26.76 billion, up 17.9% relative to the 2022 figure of €22.69 billion.
Covéa’s Insurance France property and casualty insurance segment contributed most to this figure, with earned premiums totalling €10.13 billion, up 2.5% relative to 2022.
Earned premiums in the firm’s reinsurance segment also surged 69.3% in 2023, again due to the full-year integration of PartnerRe, which contributed €8.42 billion, €6.47 billion in non-life reinsurance and €1.94 billion in life reinsurance.
Net income from Covéa’s Insurance France segment amounted to €638 million compared with €778 million in 2022.
In non-life insurance, net income amounted to €321 million and the combined ratio was 102.0% as
opposed to 99.1% in 2022.
Covéa observed that after exceptionally severe climate events in 2022, claims related to natural
events remained high in 2023, particularly as a result of storms and flooding in the fourth quarter.
In life insurance, net income totalled €317 million and rose mainly because of higher management and financial margins.
Michel Gougnard, Chairman of Covéa, commented, “2023 brought some exceptional challenges. We saw violent riots in June, Storms Ciaran and Domingos in November and flooding in northern France in December, making life particularly difficult for some of our customers and members.
“We responded to those events with determination, providing immediate support to our members as well as ongoing assistance in managing their claims. With the efforts of all of our teams and our digital capabilities, we were able to deal with an exceptional number of claims while maintaining the quality of our service.
“In addition, in difficult economic circumstances, we limited price increases while ensuring that our policies provide the best possible coverage. Our close ties with our members means that we can adjust to their changing personal and property insurance needs.”
Thierry Derez, Chief Executive Officer of Covéa, said, “2023 was the year when we fully implemented the Group’s strategy, and we delivered a strong performance. In France, we limited the impact on our results caused by higher repair costs and claims arising from social unrest and climate events.
“Our reinsurance business, through PartnerRe, helped make Covéa more robust in both financial and technical terms. At a time when major risks such as the climate and cybersecurity are giving rise to new customer needs, the good fit between Covéa’s areas of expertise is helping to provide the best possible service to all our customers and members and enables us to look forward with confidence.
“Our investments in artificial intelligence will help us greatly in achieving this. In 2024, we intend to pursue our risk prevention efforts. The more effective those efforts are, the more our risk-pooling methods will be understood and accepted by all our policyholders.
“Our workforce consists of 24,000 people in France and around the world who show their dedication to serving our members and customers every day, because they love the work they do. They are the ones who see and understand the shifts in our society.
“Our resolutely modern approach to the mutual model encourages these social ties, which help us protect our collective more effectively. I would like to offer our staff my sincere thanks.”
