Almost two years have passed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which time the Romanian insurance industry has constantly adapted to consumers' needs, in some cases even by extending the coverage existing in the original policy wording.

The bankruptcy of CITY Insurance - the largest player on the Romanian market, with a 20% share of the total industry and 45% in the MTPL segment, continues to be the hot topic of the week.

Euroins Romania's shareholders approved a new capital increase amounting to over EUR 24 million (RON 120 million), the third in recent months. The most recent audit showed that Euroins Romania exceeded all financial indicators set by law, with the SCR at 118.5% and the coverage of the MCR at 278.4%.

The largest compensation paid last year by UNSAR insurers to cover the damages occurred on a voluntary home insurance policy was about EUR 400,000 (RON 1.9 million), 145% higher than in 2019. "It was paid in order to cover the damages caused by a fire", states UNSAR - the National Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies in Romania, wrote 1asig.ro here.

In Q1 2021, Romanians chose the protection offered by life insurance more than they did in any of the similar periods in the last five years. Thus, gross written premiums for this segment went up by 11.6% y-o-y, exceeding RON 688 million (~EUR 139.8) million.

NN Group announces that Kuldeep Kaushik will be appointed as CEO of NN in Romania, effective 1 November 2021, subject to regulatory approval and work authorization. Kuldeep takes over from Gerke Witteveen, Chief Financial Officer of NN in Romania, who has held the interim CEO role for the past period.

In 2020, insurers member of UNSAR (the National Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies in Romania) paid aggregate claims of over RON 11 million (~EUR 2.2 million) for the 50 largest claims related to home insurance - up by 16% compared with from 2019, two thirds of these claims being caused by fires, according to data published by the association, 1asig.ro informed here.

The shareholders of EUROINS Romania commit to further invest in the Romanian insurance market as the company announces another round of capital increase worth over RON 120 million, after two other recent successive capital increases worth over RON 126 million.

In Q1 2021, the Romanian insurance market totaled RON 3.19 billion (EUR 648.7 million), increasing by approximately 8.2% y-o-y, according to the quarterly report published by ASF - Financial Supervisory Authority, wrote 1asig.ro here.

Romanians want faster access and higher quality of medical services, according to the latest UNSAR-IRES survey, informed the insurance news portal www.1asig.ro here.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed Romanians' perception of risks, increasing their interest in insurance protection. The most significant change was observed in health insurance, 4 out of 10 Romanians stating that the pandemic has increased their interest in the matter, according to a UNSAR-IRES Barometer on Risk Perception and Insurance Culture in Romania.

At the end of March 2021, the Romanian private pension funds (Pillar II and Pillar III) accumulated RON 83.34 billion in total assets, 33% more compared to the previous year, according to the quarterly figures published by ASF. The total assets of the private pension system were 7.9% of the GDP.

Euroins Romania Asigurare Reasigurare S.A announces the completion of the financial audit for 2020 and the first results of Q1 2021, which reflects the repositioning of the company, the appointment of a new general manager and the improvement of risk management.

Starting with June 2021, Mihaela Stroia takes over the position of CEO - President of the UNIQA Life Insurance Directorate. The next period brings also a series of important changes, which support the transformation and development of the activity of the UNIQA Group at international level, but also locally.

Credit insurer COFACE announced in a statement published on its website it expands its portfolio on Romanian insurance market entering surety bonds segment- "a viable alternative to the letter of credit and are dedicated to companies involved in public procurement contracts".

The Competition Council of Romania has authorized the transaction through which ALLIANZ-TIRIAC Asigurari takes over the company GOTHAER Asigurari Reasigurari. The Romanian subsidiary of GOTHAER is active since 2012, but in recent months, the German Group has changed its strategic direction to focus on the home market.

The insurance company SIGNAL IDUNA ASIGURARE REASIGURARE announces as of May 20, 2021 the signing of an agreement for the acquisition of the companies ERGO Asigurari de Viata and ERGO Asigurari, part of the ERGO Group. The transaction will be subject to the approval of the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) and the Romanian Competition Council.

Romanian largest insurer CITY Insurance announced in a statement that local investment firm Vivendi International has reached an agreement with the Netherlands-based I3CP Holdings to sell its entire majority stake in the insurance company.

GWP of Romanian insurers reached RON 11.50 billion (EUR 2.36 billion), up by 4.64% y-o-y, according to the YE2020 market figures published on the Romanian FSA website. Overall paid claims totaled RON 6.92 billion (EUR 1.42 billion), up by 1.5% y-o-y.

The GWP related to the branches of EU insurers active on Romanian insurance market, has crossed last year the threshold of RON 1 billion for the first time, according to the YE2020 figures released last week by Romanian FSA.