Bulgaria's Jan-Sept General Insurance Market Grows 23.4%

Bulgaria's general insurance market is dominated by car insurance policies, which generated 69.5% of total premiums in the nine months through September, the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) said in a statement.

The combined premium income of Bulgaria's 17 life insurers increased by 25% on the year to 187.9 million levs through September. Life insurance policies generated 73.8% of the segment's total premium income.

The combined technical profit of general insurers in the nine-month period fell by more than two thirds to 9.9 million levs. Life insurers had a combined net profit of 4.0 million levs, 60% less than a year ago. The technical profit or loss of insurance companies is the financial result of their core activity.

General insurers had combined assets of 1.5 billion levs at the end of September, up 24.9% on the year, and the combined assets of the life insurers were 24.6% higher on the year  reaching 895.9 million levs.

Bulgarian voluntary health insurers reported gross premium income of 23.2 million levs in the first nine months of 2008, up 11.5% on the year. They had a combined technical loss of 3.9 million levs and combined assets of 55 million levs, 21.1% higher year-on-year. There were 17 voluntary health insurers active in the country at the end of September.

The insurance market in Bulgaria has been growing steadily in recent years, mainly due to strong income from mandatory insurance policies such as third party liability for motor vehicles. However, the premium income per capita is still half the average of central and eastern Europe.

(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)