In 2015, Polish insurers paid life insurance benefits worth PLN 19.3 billion and non-life insurance compensations and benefits worth PLN 15.5 billion. A dramatic increase in payments in motor civil liability insurance (OC) caused that the result achieved in this type of insurance was the worst in history.

Interesting data for 2015

Motor insurance market
Key figures:

Guidelines of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) on the adjustment of claims and a considerable increase in payments in personal damages contributed to the greatest loss in the motor civil liability insurance (OC) in history. Recently, the prices of the civil liability insurance (OC) have been rising, but companies are slow in increasing premium rates. Any rapid step may cause an outflow of customers to another insurer, which, naturally, every company wants to avoid. It will be very difficult to restore the balance on the motor civil liability insurance (OC) market, because payment amounts will continue to increase, and without appropriate regulatory decisions the process will be uncontrolled and unpredictable. In light of the above, the heralds of a new tax connected with treatment of victims of accidents raise concerns. Burdening the motor civil liability insurance (OC) with a new tax may cause a dramatic price increase, which in turn may contribute to the increase in the number of people driving without OC. Already today there are about 250 thousand of such people on Polish road, says Jan Grzegorz Prądzyński, CEO of PIU.

Non-life market (Section II exclusive of motor insurance).
Key figures:

Life insurance market
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Financial results of insurers

The net profit of life insurers for 2015 amounted to PLN 3 billion and was by 3.4% higher than a year ago. Non-life insurers ended 2015 with the profit of PLN 2.7 billion (a decrease by 28.5%). The technical result on life insurance amounted to PLN 2.8 billion and was by 13.4% lower than a year before. The technical result of non-life insurers amounted to PLN 351.4 million and was by 55.8% lower than in 2014. The income tax due from Polish insurers for 2015 amounted to PLN 800 million.

Table

In 2015, we spent PLN 483 million on private health insurance. According to the data collected by the Polish Insurance Association, this is 21 per cent more than last year. The numberof policyholders in 2015 increased by 19% to 1.43 million. The most visible increase in the number of policyholders was in the segment of individual policy holders, however, at the end of 2015 it was not as dynamic as in the previous quarters. At the end of 2015, 272 thousand persons held an individual insurance policy, and 1.16 million persons – a group policy.
– The premium on health policies is rising very steadily, which demonstrates that there is an increasing demand for this type of coverage. However, it is still a niche on the Polish insurance market and without taking appropriate legislative activities it will remain a niche – says Dorota M. Fal, an advisor to the Management Board of PIU for health insurance.

On 16 February 2016, the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Polish Chamber of Insurance appointed the following members of the PIU Audit Committee:

• Mr Adam Uszpolewicz, President of the Management Board of Aviva TUnŻ SA
• Mr Sławomir Łopalewski, President of the Management Board of PKO TU SA and PKO Życie TU SA

Currently, the composition of PIU Audit Committee is as follows:
• Ms Anna Włodarczyk-Moczkowska, Deputy Chair
• Mr Jan E. Rościszewski, Deputy Chair
• Ms Ewa Stachura-Kruszewska
• Ms Monika Woźniak-Makarska
• Mr Sławomir Łopalewski
• Mr Piotr Narloch
• Mr Jarosław Parkot
• Mr Piotr M. Śliwicki
• Mr Adam Uszpolewicz

According to the data collected by the Polish Chamber of Insurance, in the period between January and September 2015 we spent PLN 356 million on private health insurance, i.e. 24% more than in the previous year. The number of policyholders after Q3 2015 increased by 32% to 1.3 million. As in previous quarters, the most visible increase in the number of policyholders was in the segment of individual policyholders. There was a 63% increase after Q3 2015, which means that 244 thousand people in Poland hold individual private health insurance policies. The growth in the number of group insurance policyholders has also continued. 

‘A stable increase in the group insurance segment by nearly 30%, both in terms of value and quantity, indicates that there is a growing demand for this type of insurance cover’, observes Dorota M. Fal, Management Board Advisor for health insurance at the Polish Chamber of Insurance.
The private health insurance segment, though fast-growing, continues to be a niche in the Polish insurance market, the value of which measured by written premiums, exceeded PLN 40 billion after Q3 2015.

Insurance Journalist of the Year
Mariusz Gawrychowski, Puls Biznesu

Debut
Alina Treptow, Puls Biznesu

Editor of the Year
Rzeczpospolita

Special awards
Regina Skibińska, Rzeczpospolita
Mateusz Ostrowski, Onet.pl 

From January 25, 2016  Polish Insurance Association will operate at the new office. New address of the office is:

Polish Insurance Association
18 Twarda St.
00-105 Warsaw
Poland

Phone and fax numbers remain unchanged. Please include the new address in your databases and in correspondence with PIU.

In Q1 2015 Polish insurers paid life insurance compensations and benefits worth PLN 10.2 billion and non-life insurance compensations and benefits worth PLN 7.2 billion.
 

Interesting data after Q1 2015

Motor insurance market. Key figures:

Non-life market (exclusive of motor insurance). Key figures:

Life insurance market. Key figures:

Net financial result

The net profit of life insurers for the Q1 2015 amounted to PLN 1.7 billion and was by 7.4% higher than a year before. Non-life insurers ended Q1 2015 with the profit of PLN 1.8 billion (a decrease by 30.4%). The income tax due from Polish insurers for Q1 2015 amounted to PLN 424.7 million.

Table

 

On 1 July Aviva and Liberty Ubezpieczenia joined companies offering Direct Claims Adjustment (DCA) to their clients. Currently, the system has been already applied by 7 insurance companies, which corresponds to ca. two thirds of the third party motor liability insurance market. In mid-October DCA is to be introduced also by the eighth insurer – Gothaer.

Direct Claims Adjustment is a breakthrough in the Polish insurance market. Thanks to DCA, a person injured in a traffic incident can contact his/her insurer, which will carry out the claim adjustment process and pay out due compensation. Since 1 April the DCA system has been offered by five insurance companies – Concordia Ubezpieczenia, Ergo Hestia, PZU, UNIQA and Warta. Only in two first months of its operation, more than 5 thousand traffic incidents were adjusted under the DCA system.

Since 1 July the group of companies carrying out claim adjustment according to the DCA system has been increased by another two – Aviva and Liberty Ubezpieczenia. “I expect that the continuously growing number of DCA users will encourage other insurance companies to begin to offer this solution to their clients in a short time. Thanks to several months of work in the Polish Chamber of Insurance, the insurers can use the system enabling them to compete for a client with the quality of the services offered. Using DCA, each insurance company can prove to its clients that it is worth their credit given upon signing the third party liability insurance,” says Jan Grzegorz Prądzyński, President of the Management Board of the Polish Chamber of Insurance.

Popularization of the DCA service among drivers is facilitated by the promotional campaign conducted by the Polish Chamber of Insurance since the beginning of June. All important information related to DCA are available on the website www.zglaszamstluczke.pl

In Q1 2015, Polish insurers paid life insurance compensations and benefits worth PLN 5.2 billion and non-life insurance compensations and benefits worth PLN 3.5 billion.
 

Key data for Q1 2015.

Motor insurance market

Key figures:

Non-life insurance market (exclusive of motor insurance)

Key figures:

Life insurance market

Key figures:

Net financial result

The net profit of life insurers for the Q1 2015 amounted to PLN 668 million and was by 6.1% higher than a year ago. Non-life insurers ended Q1 2015 with the profit of PLN 400 million (a decrease by 26%). The income tax due from Polish insurers for Q1 2015 amounted to PLN 262 million.

Table of results

The Polish Insurance Association starts an information campaign about a newly introduced Direct Claims Adjustment (BLS) system. Following the core principle of the BLS system, the simple message “Had a car crash? Call your insurer” is designed to encourage the customers to contact directly the insurer from whom they bought their third party liability policy. The information campaign will be mainly launched online as well as via radio broadcasts.

Direct Claims Adjustment has been the most important change on the Polish insurance market recently. It assumes that the aggrieved party in a car crash notifies their own insurer rather than the perpetrator’s insurer. It is this key change that is emphasised in the creative line of the Polish Insurance Association’s campaign “Call your crowd”.

“BLS is one the most favourable solutions for insurance customers introduced in recent years. We would like as many drivers as possible to familiarise themselves with how it works and why it is a change for the better. BLS is a very simple solution, and it is really down to a logical action: as the aggrieved party you should call your own insurer,” says Jan Grzegorz Prądzyński, President of the Management Board of the Polish Insurance Association. “The campaign engages familiar imagery. When we want to have a coffee in good company, we call our friends. In the same way, when we are involved in a car crash, we can now call our insurer. The purpose of this campaign is to inform drivers of this solution and build awareness around its benefits,” adds Prądzyński.

Developed by VML Poland, the campaign will run in two stages, first in June and then from September to October 2015. Advertising is supported with PR activities organised on an ongoing basis by Havas PR Warsaw.

A website created for campaign purposes, zglaszamstluczke.pl, is the main knowledge base about BLS. The website is a source of information about the BLS system as well as the insurers who have already introduced it. Campaign “Had a car crash? Call your insurer” is addressed to people aged between 25 and 35 interested in the automotive sector, and therefore it will mainly run online. On 3 June, activities will start on Facebook, YouTube and Google Display Network. All these will direct the users to the website zglaszamstluczke.pl. 
The online campaign will be supported by a radio campaign aimed to reach people aged between 35 and 44 and inform them of BLS. It is with this age group in mind that the creators prepared 15- and 30-second radio commercials which will be broadcast on Trójka Polish Radio 3, TOK FM, RMF Classic, Antyradio and Rock Radio starting 8 June.