Italy's Generali posts solid 2019 results; launches €100m COVID-19 emergency fund

Generali enjoyed a big increase in its profits in 2019, driven by disposals and improvements in all group business segments including life, property & casualty and asset management. The Italian insurer has set up an emergency fund to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

CEO Philippe Donnet stated that the company is fully on track to meet all the targets of the ‘Generali 2021’ strategic plan, and is in a "strong position" to brace the impact of rapidly evolving situation caused by the coronavirus crisis.

The company's new €100 million COVID-19 emergency fund will primarily assist Italy, the European epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, but will also be available in other countries where Generali operates. It aims to offer immediate assistance in this rapidly evolving crisis and, in the medium term, aims to support economic recovery efforts in the countries affected. Generali employees will be able to donate to the fund.

Generali's net profits rose 15.7 percent to €2.7 billion in 2019, compared with €2.31 billion in 2018, reflecting improvements in the operating result as well as the contribution from the operations that are in the process of being sold or were sold. The company posted an operating result of €5.2 billion, an increase of 6.9 percent from the previous year.

Gross written premiums for the group amounted to €69.8 billion, an increase of 4.3 percent from the previous year, attributed positive developments in the life and P&C segments.

The insurer's combined ratio for the full-year was 92.6 percent, which Generali said is "the best among peers" in the market. This compares to the combined ratio of 93 percent in 2018.

Chief executive Philippe Donnet said: “Generali closed 2019 with the best operating result in its history and with an excellent capital position, consolidating its role as a global leader in the industry. This set of results confirms that we are fully on track to meet all the targets of the ‘Generali 2021’ strategic plan.

"The disciplined implementation of the strategy is driving profitable growth across all business lines and has made it possible to enhance the diversification of the sources of profit, with Life net inflows at excellent levels and the best Combined Ratio among peers."

Commenting on the company's growth strategy for 2019 and the general preparedness to deal with COVID-19, Donnet said: "Our performance in 2019 and the progress we have made towards the targets of the ‘Generali 2021’ strategic plan also put us in a strong position to face the rapidly evolving situation caused by the global COVID - 19 outbreak around the world. Our key priority is to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our employees while guaranteeing the continuity of all our operations and maintaining our full product offering and client service levels.”

Regarding the newly created COVID-19 emergency fund, Generali chair Gabriele Galateri di Genola and CEO Donnet said: “With this extraordinary fund, we commit a concrete pool of resources immediately to respond the COVID-19 emergency. Generali wants to be a leader in the international community to face what is both a health crisis but also an economic crisis. We all have to work together to fight this battle. We are a part of both Italian and European history, an in line with our heritage, we have and we will do everything we can to benefit the well-being of all.”