Premiums development

The gross written premiums in the Property & Casualty (P&C) segment continued the growth observed during the year, standing at € 20,607 million, growing by 3.3%, thanks to the positive performance of both business lines. The increase in the motor line (+3.4%) was supported by the growth observed in ACEER (+5.7%), which reflected the positive trend in the Czech Republic for pricing policies and the development of partnerships in fleets and leasing, the increase in car sales in Hungary and the growth observed in Austria. France also increased (+4.2%), partly as a result of new distribution partnerships, and Americas and Southern Europe (+19.2%), mainly due to the pricing adjustments made in Argentina following inflation. In spite of recovering in the second half of the year, motor premium income in Italy was down by 1.7%, following the measures adopted to recover the portfolio profitability

Non-motor premiums also rose by 2.7%, thanks to the positive trends broadly extended across the Group’s various areas of operations. Premium income in ACEER increased (+4.1%), led by Poland (+16.4% deriving from the corporate business and by the development of travel products), Hungary (+7.7% which mostly benefits from growth in home products and in the health business volumes), Austria (+1.9% driven by the accident & health business) and Croatia (+51% thanks to the business underwritten through Unicredit). Performance was positive in France (+2.7%) thanks to the performance of the accident & health line, Germany (+1.8%) due to the growth in Global Corporate & Commercial lines, as well as in the home and commercial lines, and International cluster (+7.2%), driven by Europ Assistance thanks to the development of travel insurance and roadside assistance in mature markets. The decrease observed in Italy (-1.5%) was mainly related to the reduction of the Global Corporate & Commercial lines as well as the health business which were affected by heavy competition in a market characterized by sustained price competition.