Generali’s P&C segment drives growth in H1 despite losses from volatile markets

Generali Group has reported positive growth in the premiums of its property and casualty (P&C) segment, despite a decrease in gross written premiums (GWP) overall and a significant net income loss in its results for the first half of 2016.

The group's GWP decreased by 2.1 percent to €37 billion for the six-month period ending June 30 2016, compared to €38.2 billion for the first half of 2015.

However, premiums in the P&C segment rose by 1.3 percent to €11.1 billion, which Generali attributed to the increase of 2.3 percent in premiums for its motor segment, and stable premiums in the non-motor segment, increasing by 0.1 percent.

The premiums for its life segment decreased by 3.5 percent to €25.8 billion, and there was a clear decline in unit-linked premiums decreasing by 19.9 percent, which the group attributes to equity market volatility.

The group's net profit stood at €1.2 billion, a 9.9 percent decrease from €1.3 billion for the first half 2015 results.

The profitability of Generali's underwriting for its P&C segment increased slightly, with the combined ratio decreasing by 0.3 points to 92.3 percent.

Philippe Donnet, chief executive officer of The Generali Group, commented: “The technical performance of our business in the first six months are solid and encouraging, despite the extremely negative market conditions. Our deep technical expertise and management skills allow us to deal effectively with a period characterised by significant markets volatility, low interest rates and the persistence of catastrophic events.

“As regards our life business, we pursued a disciplined approach, favouring quality and profitability, and not just the growth in volumes. A significant increase was recorded in property and casualty premiums, taking into account the highly competitive context in which we operate, and will allow us to gradually rebalance the portfolio towards this segment, in which we show excellent levels of profitability. These results and the work of all our employees throughout the world confirm our ability to offer our shareholders a return in line with our targets”.