The Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) has reported premium growth across all lines of business and segments in Q3, with a total increase of 13.6% to €9.5 billion.
The group notes that this includes the first-time consolidation of the most recently acquired insurance companies in Hungary and Türkiye, with premiums of around €291 million, which account for 3.0% of the total premium volume.
Though it adds that even without these companies, premium growth is in the double digits at 10.1%.
With the exception of single premium life insurance which was up 3.1%, all business lines are posting double-digit growth rates (motor third-party liability +21%, motor own damage insurance +13.6%, other property and casualty insurance +15.3%, health insurance +11.8%, regular premium life insurance +10%).
Meanwhile, profit before taxes was up 10% above the value in the previous year at €413.4 million.
At €479.2 million, the financial result (excluding the result from at-equity consolidated companies) is down 8.4% on the previous year, which VIG attributes primarily to the measures already taken in Q1 and Q2 of 2022 in connection with exposures to the Russian government and corporate bonds. At EUR 302.4 million, net income was 10.1% higher than in the previous year.
VIG reports the combined ratio sat at 95.1% in Q3, slightly below the previous year’s value of 95.2%. However, the firm observes that the pressure of increased average losses, partially due to inflation, is evident in comparison with the first half of the year, when the combined ratio was 94.3%.
VIG Group investments including cash and cash equivalents were €34.1 billion as of 30 September 2022. Earnings per share (annualised) rose from €2.86 to €3.07 in the period under review (+7.3%).
Elisabeth Stadler, CEO of Vienna Insurance Group, commented, “Of course, like any company, we are feeling the effects of the current situation, with inflation being the main factor here.
“The situation is leading to increased claims expenses among other things, thereby weighing on the development of the combined ratio. Nevertheless, we are confident that our strategy of broad diversification will enable us to effectively manage the inflation risk overall.
“A risk assessment has demonstrated that our largest markets in terms of volume are well positioned due to the measures taken and the current pricing policy. We remain confident in the long-term growth potential of the CEE region, especially as the current forecasts for this region are once again clearly above those for the eurozone.
“In view of the current situation and provided that there are no unexpected external factors and volatilities by the end of the year, we expect a premium volume of at least EUR 12 billion for the full year 2022 and profit before taxes that surpasses the previous year’s figure of EUR 511 million. In terms of the combined ratio, we are aiming for a value of around 95% despite the challenging environment.”
