In 2013, the insurance companies issued in total 5.18m policies under the direct system, i.e. bought via the Internet or the telephone. The premium collected from those contracts after four quarters of 2013 amounted to PLN 1.175bn and decreased year-to-year by 1.2%. According to the data gathered, the sales via the direct channel visibly stabilised.
In 2013, the biggest number of contracts concluded via the telephone and the Internet was attributable to motor insurance: Third party liability insurance of owners of motor vehicles accounted to 55.9% of the premium, and comprehensive insurance – 20.5%. However, a growing market share of another type of insurance is observed.
‘The year 2013 was the time of consolidation of the sales level, however we observe a further increase in premiums for non-motor products. For example, the premium for assistance insurance increased by 9% year-to-year and for insurance against other damage to property by nearly 6%,’ says Paweł Zylm, Chairman of the PIU Direct Insurance Team.
Insurances sold via the telephone have been available in Poland since 2003. This channel has been significantly growing year over year. The years 2006-2007 proved crucial as in that period the number of insurance companies offering policies sold under the direct system substantially grew. In the year 2012, the number of policies sold via the Internet and the telephone exceeded for the first time 5 million. ‘Along with the development of smartphones, the clients’ interest in buying insurance policies with the use of the simplest tools available to them, which are always handy, will be growing’ says Paweł Zylm.
