Austria
Austrian insurance market
The top 5 insurance groups in the country generated around 71% of the premium volume in Austria in the 1st to 3rd quarters of 2021. The two largest insurance groups generated around 44%.
Market growth in the 1st to 3rd quarters of 2021 compared to the previous year
Source: Austrian Insurance Association
The Austrian insurance companies generated a total premium volume of EUR 14.4 billion in the first three quarters of 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic was still having a significant negative effect on economic output at the beginning of 2021. According to the Austrian Insurance Association (VVO), this led to a moderate year-on-year increase in premium volume of 0.5% in the 1st quarter of 2021. The recovery that followed in the 1st half of 2021 led to a total year-on-year increase of 3.1% for the 1st to 3rd quarters of 2021. The increase was mainly due to growth in property and casualty insurance (+4.6%) and health insurance (+3.3%). Life insurance remained stable with an increase of 0.1%.
Industrial insurance, which recorded a double-digit increase of 11.1%, was the main driver of the growth in property and casualty insurance. Premium volume rose 7.0% year-on-year for motor own damage insurance. This increase was primarily the result of price changes. Motor third party liability recorded an increase of 2.4%. The non-motor lines of business rose 5.1%, with travel insurance recording a sharp increase of 23.6%.
While regular premium life insurance fell slightly year-on-year by minus 0.7% in the 1st to 3rd quarters of 2021, single premium life insurance recorded an increase in premium volume. After decreasing sharply in the 1st quarter of 2021, single premium life insurance achieved an increase of 5.8% during the first nine months of 2021. Premiums in health insurance recorded a year-on-year increase of 3.3%.
According to calculations based on data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Austrian Insurance Association (VVO), the average per capita expenditure for insurance in Austria was EUR 2,016 in 2020. Of this, EUR 1,410 was spent in the non-life insurance area and EUR 607 in the life insurance area.
Market shares of the major insurance groups
Source: Austrian Insurance Association; as of 9M 2021
VIG companies in Austria
VIG Insurance Group is represented by the two insurance companies Wiener Städtische and Donau Versicherung in Austria. s Versicherung, which was merged with Wiener
Städtische in 2018, continues to exist as a brand for bancassurance customers. Wiener Städtische also operates via branches in Italy and Slovenia. VIG Holding operates out of Austria as a reinsurer of the Group and an insurer in the cross-border corporate business. Since 2019, it has also been active in the traditional industrial insurance business through branch offices in the Northern European countries of Sweden, Norway and Denmark. VIG Holding is assigned to the Group Functions segment.
With a market share of 23.4% in the 1st to 3rd quarters of 2021, the VIG insurance companies represent Austria’s largest insurance group. Together they hold first place in the market in property and casualty and in life insurance, and second place in health insurance.
Financial performance indicators in the Austria reportable segment
Premiums by line of business
Values for 2020 in parentheses
Premium development
The Austrian VIG insurance companies wrote EUR 4,048.4 million in premiums in 2021, thereby keeping premiums stable at the previous year level with a slight increase of 0.4% (2020: EUR 4,030.7 million). Net earned premiums were EUR 3,242.5 million in 2021 (2020: EUR 3,275.6 million).
Result before taxes
The Austria segment generated a result before taxes of EUR 234.7 million in 2021 (2020: EUR 178.7 million). This corresponds to an increase of 31.3%, due in part to COVID-19-related impairments in the previous year and a higher current result from shares in at equity consolidated companies.
Combined ratio
The combined ratio was 92.8% in 2021, almost the same level as in the previous year (2020: 92.7%).