Lithuania’s insurance market posts record growth

Life insurance grew by a record 18.3 percent last year but slowed down in the first half of 2015, yet the growth was still in double figures at 11.2 percent. Life insurance written premiums reached all time record heights and totalled EUR 106.6 million. The growth was mostly due to the 13.5 percent increase of the unit-linked life insurance, which accounts for 70 percent of the total life insurance market. The amount of contributions was also record high, standing at EUR 74.6 million.

Non-life insurance market grew by 4 percent in the first half of 2015 year-on-year, while contributions stood at EUR 205.7 million. Non-life insurance market growth was mostly affected by CASCO, property and health insurance increase. These increased by 6, 10.8 and 15.5 percent respectively. However liability car insurance, accounting for the biggest part of non-life insurance market, fell by 2.9 percent while contributions totalled EUR 68.3 million. The 1.1 percent growth of written premiums of natural persons did not counterbalance the 8.9 percent decrease of written premiums of legal persons.

Insurance companies registered in Lithuania incurred a loss of EUR 16.4 million in the first half of 2015. Whereas in the first half of 2014 they earned a profit of EUR 19.6 million. The reason behind the negative result was a one-off factor – a loss of EUR 21 million due to the transfer of Estonian insurance portfolio by Codan Forsikring A/S to UAB PZU Lietuva in 2014. Having eliminated this factor, Lithuanian insurance companies earned a profit of EUR 4.6 million.

In the first half of 2015, 97 insurance brokerage companies were operating in Lithuania’s insurance market. They brokered 744,800 insurance and pension accumulation agreements, by 9.8 percent more year-on-year.