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Favourable Business Cycle Conditions Support Premium Growth in Private Insurance

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  • Thomas Url

    (WIFO)

Abstract

Favourable labour market conditions and robust income growth strengthened demand for non-life insurance in 2018. In contrast, life insurance continued to suffer from low interest rates and the high liquidity preference of private households. With premiums growing by 5 percent, non-life and accident insurance exceeded expectations by far, and private health insurance continued its stable growth path with +4.2 percent. The premium volume in life insurance, on the other hand, prolonged its decline at –3.7 percent. In comparison with the nominal gross domestic product, the premium volume of the entire private insurance sector developed modestly; insurance penetration in Austria fell to 4.5 percent of GDP and it is thus far below the European average of 7.6 percent. Current WIFO surveys show that this trend will continue – at a lesser pace – over the next two years. For the first time, the long phase of low yields on fixed-interest securities caused visible losses in the revenue from capital investments. In total, the financial result was about one tenth lower than in the previous year.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Url, 2019. "Favourable Business Cycle Conditions Support Premium Growth in Private Insurance," WIFO Bulletin, WIFO, vol. 24(16), pages 143-152, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wfo:wblltn:y:2019:i:16:p:143-152
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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas Url, 2020. "Robust Growth in Non-life Insurance Secures 2019 Premium Growth in Private Insurance," WIFO Bulletin, WIFO, vol. 25(9), pages 75-86, November.
    2. Thomas Url & Serguei Kaniovski, 2020. "The Potential Capital Requirement for a Minimum Prices Insurance Scheme for Wheat, Maize, and Rape Seed," WIFO Working Papers 601, WIFO.

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