VIG turns to 9-mo pre-tax loss in Croatia on goodwill impairment

The negative result in Croatia is due to goodwill impairment of 45 million euro recorded in the second quarter of 2020, VIG said in a presentation of its results for January-September 2020.

VIG also said it carried out goodwill impairments of 118 million euro for Bulgaria, Croatia and Georgia in the second quarter, mainly as a result of the significant increase in discount rates due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Total gross written premiums of VIG's Croatian unit, Wiener Osiguranje, grew by an annual 5.8% to 104.7 million euro in January-September, the statement read.

VIG's casco premiums in Croatia rose 32% on the year to 5.5 million euro, whereas other property insurance premiums added 6.7% to 26.8 million euro in the first nine months of 2020. The premiums of the motor third party liability sub-segment rose 29% to 11.8 million euro.

VIG's premiums from regular life insurance on the Croatian market, however, dropped 6.4% to 19.5 million euro, while single life insurance premiums remained flat on an annual comparison basis at 37.2 million euro in the period under review.

Health insurance saw a rise in premiums to 3.9 million euro, from 2.5 million euro in January-September 2019.

VIG, headquartered in Vienna, is active in some 25 countries in Europe, including Romania, Serbia, Moldova, Bulgaria, Albania, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

($ = 0.838087 euro)