According to a report by the National Bank, Romania is among the countries most vulnerable to earthquakes, according to EIOPA – the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, which drew a picture of the gap in insurance protection against natural disasters.

The National Bank of Romania highlights the risk of flooding as one of the most important physical risks in Romania as a result of climate change, affecting the population and companies whose head offices are located in the countries affected by this risk. At the aggregate level, for all meteorological risks, the level of insurance coverage in Romania is only 2 percent, being among the most vulnerable countries in Europe.

According to a joint analysis by the ECB and EIOPA for policies to reduce the gap in insurance coverage of extreme weather events, Romania, together with Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Malta, Cyprus and Lithuania, is in the category below the 5 percent average level. for insurance coverage of economic losses caused by climatic causes in Europe. The best situation with coverage above 50 percent is in the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Iceland.

The segment of insurance companies continued to grow in 2022, reaching the level of total assets of 37.99 billion lei (+17 percent in annual terms). The modest size, although steadily growing, puts the insurance sector last in the financial system with a share of assets of 3.8 percent (December 2022).

The Romanian insurance market is dominated by the general insurance segment, which accounts for 83% of gross premiums written in the first three quarters of 2022. This fact is explained by the mandatory nature of some automobile (RCA type) and property (PAD) insurance policies. . The situation reflects the low level of financial education, says the report of the National Bank, which states that the growth of the insurance market depends on increasing consumer confidence and adapting the offer of insurance products to the local market.

Compared to EU member states, Romania continues to rank last in the EU in terms of the ratio of gross premiums to the number of inhabitants for life insurance (16.22 euros per inhabitant, compared to the average for the countries of the region103). 87 euros per inhabitant).

The combined rate, calculated as the sum of the cumulative costs in relation to the premiums earned, also shows an alarming value for Romania. The figure is highest in the EU at 106 percent (any value above one indicates losses for insurers), followed by France at 100 percent.