Turkey/Georgia
Turkey
The Turkish insurance market also recorded double-digit growth of 22.5% in local currency terms in the first nine months of 2019. Premium volume rose 20.4% in the non-life sector, while the life sector recorded an increase of 35.6%.
The non-life sector is clearly dominated by the 48.5% share contributed by the motor lines of business. Motor third party liability insurance rose 16.1% in the 1st to 3rd quarters of 2019, while motor own damage insurance increased 20.4% compared to the same period in the previous year. The non-motor lines of business grew 23.4%.
More than 60 insurance companies operate in Turkey. VIG non-life insurance company Ray Sigorta was in 19th place with a market share of 1.7%.
Georgia
The Georgian market continued the growth achieved in previous years with an increase of 15.5% in local currency terms. Double-digit growth rates were recorded in both the life insurance lines of business, which gained 25.4%, and non-life lines of business, which rose 14.8% compared to the same period in the previous year. Health insurance, which represents 37.6% of the total premium volume and is one of the most important lines of business in Georgia, recorded an increase of 5.0%. Growth in the non-life sector was also driven by motor own damage insurance (+30.7%), motor third party liability insurance (+29.1%) and the non-motor lines of business (+16.5%). The planned law on mandatory motor third party liability insurance for domestic vehicles was deferred after the introduction of mandatory motor third party liability insurance for foreign vehicles in the previous year. According to the State Insurance Supervision Service, only around 7% of all vehicles in Georgia currently have third party liability insurance.
The VIG insurance companies GPIH and IRAO operate in Georgia. Its market share of 22.9% puts it in second place in the Georgian insurance market.
Financial performance indicators in the Turkey/Georgia segment
Premium development
PREMIUMS by line of business
The Turkey/Georgia segment recorded total premiums written of EUR 234.9 million in 2019 (2018: EUR 198.3 million). The year-on-year increase of 18.5% was mainly the result of good growth in the motor lines of business and other property and casualty insurance. Net earned premiums were EUR 112.4 million in 2019 (2018: EUR 97.1 million), an increase of 15.7% compared to the previous year.
Result before taxes
The result before taxes rose to EUR 6.7 million in 2019, mainly due to an improvement in the combined ratio (2018: EUR 3.8 million).
Combined Ratio
The combined ratio improved considerably to 96.5% in 2019, mainly due to the positive performance recorded in the motor lines of business in Turkey (2018: 98.5%).