The business climate in the insurance industry continued to improve in the second quarter of 2024. While the assessment of the business situation remained almost unchanged from the previous quarter, expectations in the life insurance and property and casualty insurance sectors rose again, according to the current Ifo business cycle test for the insurance industry.
According to the GDV, inflation-related catch-up effects are leading to rising premium income in property and casualty insurance. At the same time, however, significantly higher expenses for claims are also to be expected. “The situation is still tense in some insurance sectors – especially in motor vehicle insurance,” says Asmussen.
Jörg Asmussen, GDV General Manager, is pleased about the improved business climate: “This is good news, especially compared to the situation and especially the mood of the economy in Germany.”
According to the GDV, wage increases and interest rate cuts provided a tailwind for life insurance from April to June. In new business with regular premiums in particular, both expectations and the assessment of the current business climate continued to improve. Rising real incomes were noticeable here. In the single-premium business, the situation is gradually brightening, even if the premium trend remains negative.
“The increased expectations of interest rate cuts in the markets have recently made the interest rates on long-term pension products more attractive than on short-term savings products,” says Asmussen.
