The Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) said on Tuesday its pre-tax profit from operations in Serbia rose by an annual 9% to 1.2 million euro ($1.3 million) in the first half of 2016.
Total gross written premiums of VIG’s Serbian unit – Wiener Stadtische Osiguranje – rose 12.1% on the year to 45 million euro in January-June, VIG said in its interim financial report posted on its website.
The motor third party liability (MTPL) insurance sub-segment reported an 8.8% growth in premiums to 2.3 million euro, casco premiums rose 6.3% to 4.2 million euro, and premiums from the other property sector climbed 16% to 22.3 million euro.
VIG’s gross written premiums from regular life insurance in Serbia dropped 4.2% to 12.1 million euro, while single life insurance premiums more than doubled to 3.4 million euro from 1.6 million euro. Premiums from health insurance increased by 19.3% to 800,000 euro.
In July, VIG agreed to buy the Serbian non-life and life insurance companies of France-based AXA Group in a deal that will boost its current market share in the country of 9.7% to “clearly above 10%”. The combined annual premium volume of AXA Zivotno Osiguranje and AXA Nezivotno Osiguranje exceeds 12 million euro, VIG said, adding that the closing of the transaction remains subject to approval by the local authorities.
