Private Insurance Sector Showing Weak Dynamics in 2015

The Austrian insurance industry was faced with weak premium growth in 2015 (+0.2 percent). Based on shrinking revenues from life insurance (–1.2 percent) and stable revenues in non-life and accident insurance (0.4 percent), the insurance penetration declined towards 5.1 percent of GDP. The unfavourable development in Austria occurred against a background of slightly improving revenues at the European level. Forecasts for 2016 and 2017 are moderate. At the beginning of 2016 new rules for the computation of minimum capital reserves became effective. The European supervisory authority published a riskless yield curve for the computation of solvency capital which will generate fluctuations in the future minimum capital requirement. The new rules will force insurers to follow a conservative portfolio strategy with low expected returns; they will be subject to a stress test in 2016.