Bulgarian life insurers lower 8-mo net profit as GWP fall 14.6%
Bulgarian life insurance companies lowered their combined net profit to 19.7 million levs ($11.9 million/10.1 million euro) in the first eight months of 2020 from 32.7 million levs in the same period of 2019, according to data released by the financial regulator on Thursday.
Life insurers' gross written premiums (GWP) dropped by an annual 14.6% to 295.9 million levs in the January-August period of 2020, Financial Supervision Commission data showed.
The decrease in GWP was mostly driven by sickness insurance premiums, which fell to 48.8 million levs from 77.3 million levs in the first eight months of 2019.
The four biggest life insurers had a combined market share of 84.5% in terms of GWP in the review period.
DZI Life Insurance and Bulstrad Life Vienna Insurance Group were the biggest players on the life insurance market with gross premiums of 77.4 million levs and 75.9 million levs, respectively. They held market shares of 26.1% and 25.6%, respectively.
Allianz Bulgaria Life and UNIQA Life followed with market shares of 21% and 11.8%, respectively.
The total assets of life insurers in the country grew to 1.98 billion levs at the end of August from 1.87 billion levs a year earlier.
