Payouts under insurance agreements increase by 27.6% in the first quarter

The statistics released on the Bank of Russia website suggest that 43.5 million insurance agreements were concluded in 2019 Q1, which is 6.8% more than in the same quarter of the previous year.

The number of agreements concluded rose in all key market segments. Retail insurance prevails with 89.3% of agreements being made with individuals.

Total insurance agreement payouts rose by 27.6% in 2019 Q1 and totalled 139.2 billion rubles. In life insurance, payouts rose 165.6% (19.7 billion rubles), which was to be expected due to the termination of agreements where a significant increase in premiums was observed.

The total of insurance premiums insurers received in the first quarter came in at 378.6 billion rubles, which almost equals the figure for the same period in the previous year. The market was supported by accident and sickness insurance and voluntary medical insurance. Growth rates in accident and sickness insurance reached 34.1% with premiums totalling 42.4 billion rubles. High demand for loans had a positive effect on the segment’s dynamics. Total voluntary medical insurance premiums rose by 7.4% to 77.9 billion rubles.

Excluding life insurance, insurance premiums increased by 2.9% in 2019 Q1 compared to the same period of the previous year. However, shrinking life insurance premiums slowed premium growth. Life insurance premiums totalled 85.2 billion rubles, which is 7.6% lower than in the same period of the previous year. The decline in indicators is explained by shrinkage in the core segment — unit-linked life insurance.

In 2019 Q1, OSAGO premiums came in at 45.1 billion rubles, while ground vehicle insurance premiums totalled 36.0 billion rubles. Both indicators fell by 2.0% after growth in the last quarter of 2018.