Private Insurance Industry Proved Its Claims Management Capacity in the COVID-19 Crisis

Despite adverse circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Austrian private insurance industry achieved slight premium growth (+1.4 percent) in 2020 and demonstrated its claims handling capacity under difficult conditions with a 3.9 percent increase in expenses for insurance claims. The insurance business continued to shift from life insurance towards health and property-casualty insurance in 2020. The Austrian insurance market thus followed the general dynamics in the European Economic Area but at a slower pace. The expansionary monetary policy in the wake of government aid programs to secure liquidity in companies and support household incomes had a strong impact on insurers' investment results.