In Italy the prizes ofmotor liability insurance “they have dropped by 20% in three years”. The president of ANIA said, Maria Bianca Farina, during the association's annual meeting, specifying that the average price of the policies was equal to 439 € in the last quarter of 2015.
"It is an important drop - he added - and derives both from a lower circulation of vehicles and from the regulations that have affected minor accidents, which have halved". Yet, Farina points out that there is still a problem of "too many" frauds.
In international comparison, the number one of ANIA pointed out that "the gap between Italian policies and the average of the main European countries has narrowed significantly, going down by 213 euro average for the period 2008-2012 138 to EUR in 2015. And in the first five months of this year, this difference narrowed further”.
As for the investment by insurance companies, “they amount to 700 billion and 600 concern the coverage of reserves, of which 280 billion are in Italian government bonds – continued Farina -. In the coming years, thanks to the interest rate scenario, alternative investments will have to be allocated to alternative investments that are currently limited but are growing. This will happen with a double advantage: returns for companies and share of savings towards the real economy”.
Meanwhile, Italian insurance companies paid out last year in benefits to policyholders "9% of GDP – continued Farina -. 2015 was a positive year with premium income of 145 billion. The challenges facing the country help to understand the value of insurance coverage. The first few months of 2016 are demonstrating a return to guaranteed products” compared to last year's trend with the strong increase in class III life products, the unsecured ones.
Insurance companies in 2015 recorded a total profit (non-life and life) of 5,7 billion, down from 6 billion in 2014. Roe last year was 10,1% (10,2% the previous year).
As it regards instead 2 Atlas, the new private fund to detect bad debts in the banking sector, the Italian insurance companies claim that they have not yet been involved in the table for the creation of the new vehicle.
“We have invested in a convinced and consistent way in Atlante – underlined the number one of ANIA -, We haven't talked about Atlante2 with our members and it is not on our agendas”.
As regards the already active Atlante fund, which still has 1,7 billion available for the purchase of banks' NPLs, “we are confident that it will be able to give us a return in a world of zero interest rates – Farina said again -. We invested significantly in the Atlante fund, convinced that it was the right way to safeguard investments. Now we are monitoring the situation and we are confident that it can give us good results".
Finally, speaking about thenational economy, Farina said that “Italy is experiencing a crucial moment for its future. After two severe recessions there are finally signs of recovery. However, the recovery is still fragile, exposed to numerous factors of national and global uncertainty. It is urgent to take action to strengthen the recovery and prevent the country from once again interrupting a development path that is indispensable for social stability and the well-being of future generations. We believe that the leap in quality is possible”.
In this context, insurance companies “they share the reforming will of this government – concluded Farina – We hope for a vigorous and wide-ranging recovery of the reform process and we deem it essential to speed up the implementation of the planned interventions for change and modernisation. We ask European and Italian legislators and regulators for stability and certainty, after a period of incessant regulatory changes, and for a common reflection on the theme of simplification".
