Unespa’s chairman estimates the necessary savings in pension schemes to supplement the public system at €750,000 million
Insurers’ premium income amounted to EUR 64,673 million at the end of 2019, 4.65% more than a year ago, and is back at pre-coronavirus levels; In fact, they are 0.77% higher than those of 2019, recovering all the ground lost to covid-19, according to preliminary data collected by the Cooperative Investigation of Insurance Entities (ICEA) and released this Wednesday by Unespa, the employers’ association. of the industry.
The president of the employers’ association, Pilar González de Frutos, pointed out at the presentation of the figures that the sector is on a “solid growth path”. The insurances that have shown the most dynamism are those in the health sector, corporate cover, but also multi-risk insurance. Health insurance grew 7% in 2022 to 10,543 million in premiums; in turn, those with multiple risks increased last year by 5.69% compared to 2021, to EUR 8,578 million. Business policies, included in the ‘other claims’ category, totaled EUR 9,765 million and increased by a further 5.14% over the past 12 months. The turnover of the non-life sector reached 40,240 million euros in 2022, an increase of 5.21% compared to 2021.
Motor insurance also developed positively, albeit less strongly: 3.31%, more than 11,353 million euros.
Life business, for its part, rose by 3.74% last year, after a premium turnover of 24,433 million euros.
However, savings volume managed by insurers fell 1.01% year-on-year. At the end of last year, technical provisions amounted to 193.753 million. “We should not forget that the rise in interest rates has influenced this decline in provisions, as many life insurance portfolios are valued along the risk-free curve, which has broadened significantly over the year,” he explains. .
González de Frutos criticized the withdrawal of incentives for individual pensions, as he believes that private savings have been “significantly eroded”, claiming that there are sufficient incentives to develop individual and occupational pension schemes. According to him, savings of €750,000 million would be needed in pension schemes to supplement the public pension system by contributing at least an additional 20% to public benefits. “The scale is scary, but it’s achievable. Of course it is achievable if we all (governments, political parties, administration, social partners and savings managers) move together and in the same direction,” he said.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
