Hungarian insurersʼ revenues from premiums rose 7.1% y-o-y in 2018 to HUF 1,024 billion (EUR 3.2 billion), as the figures recently published by the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) show.

According to the Association of Hungarian Insurance Companies (MABISZ), between 2010 and 2017, Hungarian insurers paid aprox. HUF 40 billion for a total of 50,000 reported fire incidents. 2012 was the most severe year, with fires causing HUF 10 billion in damage.

During 2008-2017 the main segments of the Hungarian insurance market - life and non-life insurance -, recorded a U-shape trend, both in written premiums and paid claims terms. Life insurance claims made the only exception from this path, recording a growth trend in the toughest years of the financial crisis.

Hungary's central bank aims to introduce in the second half of 2019 measures to enhance competition in the home insurance market, the central bank's managing director for oversight of financial organizations Csaba KANDRACS said, quoted by Reuters.

Although pipe bursts and storms are the risks causing each about one third of the housing insurance claims in Hungary, it seems people fear most fire damage and burglary, the latest edition of the Aegonʼs Great Home Test (Nagy Lakasteszt) shows.

Hungarian insurers reported 3Q 2018 aggregate GWP up by 9.2% y-o-y to HUF 777 billion (EUR 2.4 billion), according to the market data published by the National Bank of Hungary (MNB).

The board of CIG Pannonia Life Insurance decided on 28 November to raise capital at its general insurance unit by HUF 1.5 billion (~EUR 4.63 million) and modify the unit's dividend policy, Hungarian news agency MTI reports.

Top 5 Hungarian insurers accounted together for 58.6% of the market GWP in 2017, according to the market data published by MABISZ, the local insurers' association. On the non-life side, the Top 5 market weight is even bigger, of 69.7%.

According to the first estimations of the Hungarian Association of Insurers (MABISZ), local insurers paid HUF 3.17 billion (EUR 9.7 million) between May 1 and August 31 for over 57 thousand claims for damages caused to individual and condominium buildings by storms, rainstorms, lightning, and hail.

Hungarian insurers have reported consolidated GWP worth HUF 520.15 billion in 1H2018, by 7.1% up y-o-y. Yet, given the over 6% depreciation of the Forint against the European currency, the market results denominated in Euro show a total GWP volume of EUR 1.58 billion, only 0.6% up y-o-y.

10 years after its inception, the Romanian mandatory dwelling insurance system has progressed and PAID, the pool underwriting and managing the mandatory policies is a strong and financially sound institution. "We are currently managing a reinsurance program worth EUR 920 million, with a pool of excellent reinsurers, more than half of them rated AA+, while the company's solvency rate is of 220%," recently stated Nicoleta RADU, CEO, PAID.

The first Georgian International Insurance Conference took place on 14 March 2019. The event put under scrutiny the current status and the future development perspectives of the local market, in an attempt of identifying the main growth opportunities. The forthcoming launch of the mandatory MTPL system was the most important topic on the agenda, as this new line of business has the potential to provide for a significant growth, but also to become a market disruptor.

Climate risks have always produced high impact events, causing material and human losses that often have remained in collective memory as reference points. On the other hand, cyber risks are just emerging, but they are already demonstrating a potentially catastrophic impact which still needs to be better understood and assessed.