Generali growth planned

Generali signalled it intends to grow after posting 2008 figures showing aggregate direct premiums up 4.1% (+1.4% on a like-for-like basis) to €67,447m (£60,126m) and general insurance up almost 6%.

The company said the figures confirmed Generali’s “capacity for growth in a year when the insurance markets began to feel the impact of an economic and financial crisis of an exceptional nature”.

The company said: “The factors driving Generali’s progress in 2008 were greater geographical diversification and a multichannel distribution strategy focused in particular on proprietary networks.

For general insurance the company said:

• Direct business premiums rose by 5.8% to € 21,541 million (€ 20,363 million in 2007; +2.6% on a like-for-like basis). The improvement reflects significant growth in non-motor lines (+4.5% on a like-for-like basis), whereas in the motor business, in line with local markets, premiums were adversely affected by the sharp decrease in new car registrations and aggressive competition on policy rates (+1.2% on a like-for-like basis).
• Motor business accounted for 42.5% of total non-life premiums, non-motor lines accounted for 57.5% of the total.
• In Italy, where the non-life insurance market was estimated to be in decline, premiums on a like-for-like basis were substantially stable (-0.4%), with non-motor lines improving by +1.8%.
• Outside Italy, significant growth was reported by the East European countries, which also progressed on a like-for-like basis (+11.2%). A healthy increase in premiums was achieved in France (+3.8%) and a positive contribution also came from Germany (+0.8%), with non-motor lines gaining 2.9%.