Liability insurance: Not all companies are in the black – Departments – Versicherungsbote.de

Table of Contents

• 0.1 Steady growth in reserve prices
• 0.2 Increasing contract numbers ensures market stability
• 0.3 Moderate increase in average prices
• 0.4 Application costs: two people will move the photo
• 0.5 Not all companies did well in 2023
• 0.6 Substantial differences in subscription results
• 1 What are ⁣the​ primary factors‌ contributing⁢ to the increase in ‍demand for liability⁤ insurance in Germany?

As the basis of private insurance protection, it protects Liability insurance from financial risks that may arise from everyday accidents. A red wine stain on a neighbor’s expensive sofa, a fall on an icy sidewalk – something that seems harmless at first glance can lead to life-threatening stress without adequate protection. “Liability insurance is the most important insurance in the private sector,” said guidance from the consumer advisory center. And liability insurance is also a profitable business for insurers, as the current business survey from VERS Leipzig GmbH shows. So only a few shadows scatter the positive picture.

Steady growth in reserve prices

Although liability insurance is only the third smallest line in the property/casualty category – it accounts for 11 percent of gross written premiums – it is showing strong growth. In 2023 they went up written total prices for the 50 largest liability insurers an average of 3.7 percent to 170.46 million euros per insurer. The increase is therefore slightly lower than in the previous year (2022: 4.2 percent), but remains stable in a multi-year comparison. Since 2018, the total average written premiums for each insured have increased by a total of 22.4 percent, which shows a continuous upward trend.

Increasing contract numbers ensures market stability

In addition to the reserved prices, the average number of insurance contracts continuous growth. In 2018, the 50 largest liability insurers had an average of 811,198 contracts. By 2023, this figure will rise to 885,776 contracts per insurer – an increase of 9.2 percent within five years. What is particularly interesting is that even in times of economic uncertainty, such as the corona pandemic, the number of contracts was increasing. Last year alone, the number of contracts increased by 1.2 percent.

This development shows that the demand for liability insurance remains unbroken. The sector is increasingly seeing consumers as essential, which has a positive impact on market penetration. Despite this strong growth, there is still potential: According to statistics, around one in five people in Germany still does not have private liability insurance, explains Maik Entrich, author of the industry survey.

Moderate increase in average prices

In addition to the increasing number of contracts, the development of the Average prices per contract clear upward movement. In 2018, insured people paid an average of 148.33 euros per contract. By 2023, this value will rise to 169.08 euros – an increase of 14 percent within five years. There were noticeable increases, especially in the period between 2021 and 2023, which can be attributed to changes in rising application costs and higher costs.

Only between 2019 and 2020 did the value decrease slightly and fell slightly from 153.70 euros to 153.56 euros. This decline reveals the special Challenges of the Corona year in which insurers were only able to implement major changes to a limited extent despite high costs. Since then, however, the sector has stabilized again and the rising prices are strengthening the economic base of the suppliers.

Application costs: two people will move the photo

The development of application costs shows that the industry continues to face rising costs. In 2023 they came true average claim costs per insurer to 82.19 million euros. At first glance, this appears to be a moderate increase compared to the previous year’s 77.33 million euros. But the overall picture is distorted by two unusual outliers: Feuersozietät Berlin Brandenburg and BGV-Versicherung report negative claims costs for 2023 – -5.52 million euros and -5.30 million euros, respectively.

Adjusted for these two insurers, average claim costs rise to 85.84 million euros. Those too Damage reportwhich is the overall average of all insurers at 44.44 percent, increasing to 47.1 percent without the two outliers.

Despite this finding, the loss rates are far from the difficult industries such as motor vehicle insurance. The only “outlier” here is Condor Allgemeine with an unusually high loss ratio for the industry of 92.49 percent. The second worst loss ratio, reported by the Bayerische Allgemeine, is significantly lower at 76.72 percent.