Generali has reported a year-on-year improvement in its operating result to €1.6 billion for the first quarter of 2021, driven by a strong performance in the Property and Casualty (P&C), Asset Management, and other business segments during the period.
The global insurer’s consolidated operating result increased by 11% from the prior year quarter, as all but the Life segment generated an improved result.
Within the company’s P&C operating unit, the result was up by 10% to €690 million, which reflects the development of the technical result, while the investment result remained stable.
For Q1 2021, P&C gross written premiums (GWP) jumped by 1.9% to approximately €6.9 billion.
The segment’s combined ratio strengthened year-on-year by 1.4 percentage points to 88%, as the impact of natural catastrophe claims decreased to 0.8%.
In the Life segment, the operating result declined by 1.8% to €785 million for the first quarter of 2021. Within the Life business, Generali explains that the technical margin was estimated to be impacted by €27 million as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
GWP increased from €12.3 billion in Q1 2020 to €12.8 billion in Q1 2021, mainly as a result of growth in the unit-linked line, notably in Italy in France.
At the same time, life net inflows increased by 1% to more than €3 billion in Q1 2021, while new business rose by more than 13% to €12.4 billion.
In Generali’s Asset Management segment, the operating result increased by 46%, year-on-year, to €136 million. The firm attributes this to the increase in operating revenues which hit €235 million.
Additionally, third-party assets under management increased from €104 billion at the end of 2020 to €110 billion in Q1 2021.
For the insurer’s Holding and Other Businesses segment, the operating result hit €63 million in Q1 2021, compared with a loss of €26 million for the same period last year.
“The Group closed the first quarter of 2021 with a great performance in line with its targets, confirming the effectiveness of the ‘Generali 2021’ strategy. The Group remains among the most solid in the insurance sector, with an excellent capital position. The rebalancing of the Life business mix is well under way and has enabled us to maintain excellent profitability in the current low interest rate environment,” said Generali Group’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Cristiano Borean.
“Generali continues to post the best, least volatile Combined Ratio among its peers and has achieved impressive results in Asset Management and other segments. The strong growth in operating result and net profit demonstrate that the Group continues to operate effectively in a macroeconomic context that is still facing uncertainty due to the pandemic.”
