Insurance Industry Overcomes Stagnation Period

Despite lively overall economic activity the expansion of the Austrian private insurance sector in 1990 trailed GDP growth. Sluggishness, while extending to all branches of business, concentrated on life insurance whose annual growth rate was cut in half. The downward trend should have bottomed out in 1991 when premium revenues rose faster than nominal GDP. Premium rates were raised for health insurance following a high damage ratio in 1990. In the accident and damage insurance business operational results deteriorated in both the direct and indirect branches. In the portfolio of assets securities continued to gain a larger share thereby confirming their dominating role.