Austria’s Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) said on Tuesday its losses in Romania doubled last year to EUR 98.7 million before taxes due to the restructuring of the business.
VIG, which owns in Romania Asirom, Omniasig VIG and BCR Asigurari de Viata, registered an 11.5 percent decrease in premiums to EUR 361.8 million, citing “ongoing irrational price competition in the motor business.”
“Due to the difficult situation in the Romanian insurance market, far reaching restructuring measures were implemented and precautions were booked. These steps were taken in order to create a good foundation for the future development of the Group companies,” said the insurer in a statement.
VIG’s combined ratio in Romania, comprising the amounts received from customers in premiums and the amounts paid for claims, sharply rose by 60.2 percentage points to 179.4 percent.
The group registered a 4.4 percent drop in gross written premiums to EUR 9.2 billion, while the net profit fell 42.4 percent to EUR 256.4 million.
Ovidiu Posirca