OVER THREE QUARTERS OF 2022, INSURERS PAID OUT PLN 33.6 BILLION IN COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS. THIS IS 11% MORE THAN A YEAR AGO. PAYOUTS FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE, RESULTING PRIMARILY FROM FIRE AND OTHER CALAMITIES, INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. THEY TOTALLED PLN 3.3 BILLION, WHICH IS 32 PERCENT MORE THAN IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
KEY FIGURES:
PLN 33.6 billion worth of compensation and insurance benefits for claimants, including:
We spent PLN 52.7 billion on insurance, which is 3.6% more than last year. Insurers invested PLN 79.9 billion in bonds and other fixed-income securities, supporting the economy and public finance. PLN 16.8 billion worth of assets were invested in shares of WSE companies and other variable-income securities. PLN 1 billion of income tax was paid by insurers. |
MOTOR INSURANCE
Payouts under motor insurance accounted for 63% of the total of compensations and benefits paid under property and personal insurance. After three quarters of 2022, they exceeded PLN 12 billion, which is an increase of 8%.
- PLN 7.3 billion was paid to claimants as payouts in compensation and benefits under mandatory third party liability motor insurance. This is 7% more than the year before.
- PLN 4.8 billion was paid to motor hull insurance holders, which is 8.8 % more than the year before.
“The average damage under third-party motor insurance has already exceeded PLN 9,000. For comparison – after Q3 of 2020 it was PLN 7,900, and in the same period of 2021 – as much as PLN 8,400. This is materially affected by, among other things, the increasing costs of repair of crashed cars. This trend is expected to continue, due to inflation and the anticipated financial results of KNF’s recommendation regarding the adjustment of damage under third-party motor insurance. In our opinion, they promote solutions which secure higher income for repair shops. This will be a direct cause for continued increase of payouts, and eventually of premiums for third party motor insurance paid by all drivers”, – says Jan Grzegorz Prądzyński, President of the Management Board of the Polish Chamber of Insurance.
At present, the average amount of third party motor insurance is not subject to any significant change. After Q3 2022 it amounted to PLN 488. By comparison, last year the premium was PLN 487.
The total revenue from third party motor insurance was PLN 11.3 billion, which is an increase of 1% Poles spent PLN 8.1 billion on motor hull insurance, which is 14% more than the year before. The number of motor hull insurance policies is on the increase, but so is the value of cars. Over three quarters of 2022, 6.4 million motor hull insurance agreements were concluded, which is 6 % more than in the previous year.
PROPERTY INSURANCE
After three quarters of 2022, a significant growth can be observed in the property insurance against fire and other disasters. They totalled PLN 3.3 billion, which is 32 percent more than the year before.
– “This year more damage was caused by disasters, in particular violent winds, hail and fire. Recently, the costs of reconstructing real property or repurchasing machines and equipment have increased. The two factors should be considered by customers when determining the sums insured. Their property is more exposed to damage, while the replacement costs are on the increase. However, insurance companies inform that only a small percentage of customers raise the sums insured to the adequate level, taking into account increasing prices. This is of particular importance for entrepreneurs for whom the scale of losses resulting from under-insurance may be particularly significant”, – explains Andrzej Maciążek, Vice-President of the Polish Chamber of Insurance.
Customers spent PLN 7.1 billion on this type of insurance, which is 17% more than the year before. There are several factors which trigger the growth of the total collected premium. To a certain extent, this coincided with increased sums insured for certain customers. Additionally, buildings whose construction commenced during economic prosperity were put into use. On top of that, it bears emphasising that this year is the second year in a row in which the global insurance and reinsurance market sees high payouts due to natural disasters.
LIFE INSURANCE
Payouts under life insurance policies amounted to PLN 14.5 billion after three quarters of 2022, of which PLN 5.1 billion were payouts under protective life insurance policies. This was 8 percent less than in the corresponding period of the previous year.
“These results show that life insurance fulfilled its function in the difficult time of the pandemic, offering financial support to a number of families. This year we record lower mortality rates than the year before, and hence the observed decrease in this segment”, -Jan Grzegorz Prądzyński explains.
At the end of Q3, the total income from life insurance premiums was PLN 15.9 billion. Of this amount, as much as PLN 12.7 billion (an increase of 5.1%) was from protective life insurance (PLN 7.1 billion) and accident and health insurance (PLN 5.6 billion).
INSURERS’ FINANCES
Insurers are the second biggest (after banks) Polish institutional buyer of treasury bonds. At the end of the third quarter of 2022, they invested PLN 79.9 billion in bonds and other fixed-income securities supporting the economy and public finance. Additionally, PLN 16.8 billion worth of assets were invested in shares of WSE companies and other variable-income securities. The net financial result of the insurance market was PLN 3.8 billion, and the income tax paid amounted to PLN 987 million.
