Sava Re enjoys strong growth in 2018 results despite shrinking reinsurance

Re/insurer Sava Re Group enjoyed a big increase in profits in 2018 as it also grew its gross written premiums despite slashing the size of its reinsurance book as it imposed much stricter underwriting discipline.

The company wrote €546.3 million in gross premiums last year, an increase of 5.6 percent over 2017. It said the growth was driven by its Slovenian non-life insurance business (10.9 percent growth), non-Slovenian non-life insurance business (12.5 percent growth) and non-Slovenian life insurance business (17.8 percent growth).

Its reinsurance segment wrote 7.2 percent less in premiums than in 2018 as a result of strict underwriting discipline and selective underwriting. There was a drop of 2.9 percent in gross life insurance premiums written owing to a large number of policy maturities.

It made a net profit of €43 million in 2018, a 38 percent increase on 2017. Its combined ratio was 92.9 percent, an improvement on the 94.4 percent it posted a year earlier.

It noted that three companies were acquired in the first quarter of the year: the pension company NLB Nov Penziski Fond based in North Macedonia and subsequently renamed Sava Penzisko Društvo; the Serbia-based insurer Energoprojekt Garant, which was merged with the Group’s Serbian non-life insurer at the year end; and the Slovenia-based assistance service provider TBS Team 24.

It added that the year 2018 saw a relatively low incidence of large claims for our insurance and reinsurance business, as reflected in the more favourable incurred loss and combined ratios, as well as in the group’s improved performance.

Profitability was also supported by the synergies flowing from the merger of four insurers now under the unified brand of Zavarovalnica Sava and the better performance of the Group’s non-EU-based members, where markets have grown faster in recent years than mature markets. This benefits the Group’s growth in income and overall business performance.

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