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Published: 17 November 2017

Insurance companies’ premium income decreased and claims paid grew in 2016

The combined premium income of non-life, life and employment pension insurance companies decreased in 2016 by 5.7 per cent to EUR 22.4 billion. In turn, claims and pensions paid increased by 4.8 per cent to EUR 21.6 billion. At the end of 2016, the balance sheet value of investments was EUR 156.9 billion, when included are also life insurance companies’ investments covering unit-linked products.

Insurance companies’ investment allocation on 31 December 2016, EUR million

Employment pension insurance companies

Employment pension insurance companies’ premium income and claims paid comprise of statutory pension insurance. Premium income has risen in recent years. In 2016, it amounted to EUR 13.6 billion, or 2.6 per cent more than one year earlier. At the same time, claims incurred have also gone up. In 2016, claims incurred amounted to EUR 17.6 billion, of which claims paid made up EUR 14.4 billion. Claims incurred rose by 8.8 per cent and claims paid by 3.9 per cent from the previous year.

The income and expenses of investment activities grew in 2016. The income of investment activities totalled EUR 31.3 billion and expenses EUR 26.8 billion. The net income of investment activities grew by 14.1 per cent to EUR 4.5 billion. The balance sheet value of investments, in turn, increased by 4.1 per cent to EUR 88.7 billion. Of this, 59.7 per cent were investments in shares and participations. From the previous year, investments in shares and participations grew by 11.6 per cent to EUR 52.9 billion.

At the end of 2016, technical provisions totalled EUR 91.6 billion. The growth from the year before amounted to 3.9 per cent. The change in the technical provisions was due to the provision for unearned premiums growing by 6.8 per cent to EUR 49.2 billion. Employment pension companies’ balance sheet totals were EUR 98.6 billion at the end of 2016. The balance sheets grew by 4.0 per cent from the year before.

Life insurance companies

Life insurance companies’ premium income diminished by 26.9 per cent from 2015 to EUR 4.6 billion. In particular, premium income from individual saving insurance and capital redemption policies decreased clearly from the previous year. Claims paid increased by 8.9 per cent from 2015 to EUR 4.3 billion.

The income of investment activities fell by 16.6 per cent to EUR 2.6 billion, while expenses decreased by 29.0 per cent to EUR 1.1 billion. After revaluations, their adjustments and unrealised value changes, the net income of life insurance companies’ investment activities totalled EUR 3.1 billion, which is 19.1 per cent more than one year earlier.

Life insurance companies’ combined net profit for the financial period diminished from EUR 395 million in 2015 to EUR 237 million. The net profit for the financial period may vary much by year. In 2014, the net profit for the financial period was EUR 166 million and in 2013, it was EUR 421 million.

At the end of 2016, the value of balance sheets was EUR 56.6 billion, up by four per cent from one year ago. Of balance sheets, the value of investments fell slightly from the previous year’s EUR 20.8 billion to EUR 19.9 billion, but the value of investments covering unit-linked insurances, in turn, grew from EUR 31.6 billion to EUR 34.4 billion. In recent years, the value of investments covering unit-linked insurance has risen strongly, while the value of other investments has fallen slowly. Technical provisions remained almost unchanged, being EUR 18.9 billion at the end of 2016.

Non-life insurance companies

Non-life insurance companies’ premium income remained on level with 2015 at EUR 4.5 billion. Claims paid increased by 3.4 per cent to EUR 3.0 billion.

Operating expenses increased by 3.5 per cent to EUR 877 million. Due to changes in the provision for unearned premiums and for outstanding claims, assets covering technical provisions rose from EUR 114 million to EUR 288 million.

The income of investment activities decreased and expenses grew from 2015. The income totalled EUR 803 million, or 14.2 per cent less than in the year before. The expenses grew by 3.5 per cent to EUR 362 million. The decreased net income of investments made the net profit for the financial period grow considerably less than assets covering technical provisions, by 2.6 per cent to EUR 586 million.

The balance sheet totals of non-life insurance companies grew from EUR 15.8 billion to EUR 16.5 billion. The value of investments was 4.5 per cent higher at the end of 2016 than in the preceding year, EUR 14.0 billion. Technical provisions, in turn, increased by 2.2 per cent to EUR 12.4 billion.

More detailed data on insurance activities can be found in the database tables of these statistics and from the web pages of other organisations that produce insurance data (link in the left-hand menu under "Links" of the statistics' home page).

The statistics on insurance activities cover activity data of employment pension, life insurance and non-life insurance companies, such as profit and loss account, balance sheet, investments and class of insurance specific data. The data are based on the Financial Supervision Authority's data collection on domestic activities of corporations engaged in the insurance markets. The financial statement structure differs in many respects between employment pension, life insurance and non-life insurance companies. The data concerning life insurance and non-life insurance companies also include branches abroad. Due to changes in source data, the appendix tables of the release for the statistical reference year 2016 were renewed and not all the data are directly comparable with the previously published tables.

Source: Insurance Activities 2016, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Jarkko Kaunisto 029 551 3551, Kerttu Helin 029 551 3330, rahoitusmarkkinat@stat.fi

Director in charge: Ville Vertanen

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Tables

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Appendix tables

• Appendix table 1. Balance sheets of insurance companies 2016, EUR million (17.11.2017)
• Appendix table 2. Investment income of insurance companies 2016, EUR million (17.11.2017)
• Appendix table 3. Insurance class-specific data of life insurance companies 2016 (17.11.2017)
• Appendix table 4. Insurance class-specific data of non-life insurance companies 2016 (Corrected on 22 March 2018) (17.11.2017)

Figures

• Appendix figure 1. Distribution of insurance companies insurance premiums, EUR million (17.11.2017)

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Updated 17.11.2017