French insurer Groupama has posted it’s annual results for 2023, which includes a net income of €510 million, and a economic operating income of €627 million, despite an elevated climate-related claims charge (€1.3 billion before reinsurance).
At 31 December 2023, the company’s combined premium income stood at €17.0 billion, representing a +6.9% increase from the prior year.
According to the firm, the increase was mostly due to strong growth in property and casualty (P&C) insurance (+10.7%) and sustained growth in health and personal protection insurance (+7.9%).
Insurance premium income in France amounted to €13.9 billion, up +5.2% compared with the previous year.
At the same time, within P&C insurance in France, premium income totalled €6.7 million at an increase of +8.4%, which was mostly driven by strong growth in home insurance (+11.2%) and agricultural insurance (+14.0%) and, to a lesser extent, motor insurance (+3.4%).
Internationally, at the end of 2023, Groupama noted that business reached €2.9 billion, up +16.5% at constant scope and exchange rates compared with 31 December 2022, benefiting from strong business growth in Romania (+37.4%) and Hungary (+17.4%).
Within P&C insurance, premium income totalled €2,1 million, up +18.5% compared to the previous period.
Moving forward, premium income in savings and pensions increased (+9.6%) to €0.5 billion, particularly in individual savings and pensions for unit-linked products (+13.7%). It has been confirmed that this increase was driven by Hungary. Group pensions also increased (+39.3%), mainly in Greece.
Meanwhile, in health and protection, business grew (+13.9%) to €0.3 billion, benefiting from growth in group insurance (+27.3%), mainly in Hungary, Romania, Greece and Bulgaria, and the increase in individual protection (+10.0%).
Groupama’s combined non-life ratio for 2023 stood at 96.8%, a solid improvement from the prior years 100.4%.
François Schmitt, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Groupama Assurances Mutuelles, commented: “Groupama’s results for 2023 show its great resilience. I would like to salute the unwavering commitment of our elected representatives to those of our policyholders who suffered major climate events in 2023. This is the strength of our mutualist model. Let’s remind ourselves that 2023 was the year of the full deployment of multi-risk climate insurance, thanks to its public reform, of which we have been one of the major contributors and which bears its fruits, with the very significant increase in insured agricultural areas.”
Thierry Martel, CEO of Groupama Assurances Mutuelles, said: “We can be proud of these results, driven by the contribution of all the Group’s components in France and abroad, and by the solvency of our Group, which has remained at an excellent level. Especially as 2023 was once again marked by major climatic events in France in the second half, including the storms Ciaran and Domingos and the floods in the north of the country in a context of lower reinsurance. The insurability of our territories is more relevant than ever and is now the subject of active discussions with public authorities.”
