Austria’s insurance undertakings were able to increased to the volume of premiums written by € 436.90 million (+6.69%) to € 6.96 billion during the 1st quarter of 2024 compared to the 1st quarter of 2023. The result from ordinary activities (EGT; Ergebnis der gewöhnlichen Geschäftstätigkeit) increased by € 29.06 million (+14.6%) to € 228.05 million during this period. The technical result decreased by € 0.15 million (-0.16%) to € 94.83 million, while the financial result decreased by € 13.45 million (-2.44%) to € 536.93 million. The total of all assets at market value (excluding capital investments of unit-linked and index-linked life insurance) stood at € 106.71 billion as of 31 March 2024, an increase of € 1.78 billion or +1.67% compared with the corresponding value from the previous year. These are the figures from the “Quarterly Report Q1 2024 – Insurance Undertakings” that was published today by the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA).
Good capital base, strong solvency
Broken down by insurance classes, the premium volume for non-life and accident insurance increased by +7.39% to € 4.79 billion, that of life insurance by +1.73% to € 1.39 billion, and that of health insurance by +11.88% to € 787 million respectively compared to figures for the first quarter of 2023. The expenditures for insurance claims stood at € 4.55 billion during the reporting period, which was an increase by 6.97% compared against the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The yield on turnover (result on ordinary activities to premiums) is a significant indicator of earning capacity increased by 26 basis points to 3.95% year-on-year, with there being increases in all balance sheet groups.
The capital base of insurance undertakings remained good: During the reporting period, 87.5% of undertakings reported a solvency capital ratio (SCR) of in excess of 200%, meaning that they had double the financial means as was necessary to fulfil all commitments. The median value stands at 251.74%. The hidden reserves of capital investments (excluding unit-linked and index-linked life insurance) fell by -0.75% to € 13.03 bn compared with the preceding quarter. They remain significantly above the level of a year ago of € 11.76 billion. As a result, the reserve ratio therefore stood at 14.05% (cf. Q1-23: 12.44%).
The full quarterly report can be found on the FMA website (in German only) at https://www.fma.gv.at/versicherungen/offenlegung/quartalsberichte/
Journalists may address further enquiries to:
Klaus Grubelnik