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Polish insurance market has developed rapidly in the 1990s. After a short stablilisation in the years 2002-2003, it is on the rise again. As of the end of 2006, there were 65 companies in the Polish market. Recently this number has decreased slightly due to mergers and withdrawals of the companies which did not succeed in winning a satisfying share in the market. The value of total basic capital of insurance companies operating in Poland amounted to PLN 4.78 billion as of the end of 2006. This shows that the market was 5 times bigger than in 1995. Similarly to the banking sector, the insurance market is also in large part owned by foreign investors (76,8% of basic capital of insurance companies). Written premium per capita amounted to PLN 813 in 2006. See Table 32.1 for a list of biggest insurance companies in Poland and their share in the market in 2006. According to sociological data (Diagnoza Społeczna survey, 2005), the range of insurance purchased by the Poles is rather limited. A major share of the insurance portfolio belongs to obligatory insurances (e.g. civil liability insurance for the vehicle owners). The most widespread and common voluntary insurace policies were home insurance and car insurance against loss or damage (AutoCasco). From among offers of life insurance, the standard options are preferred. A considerable part of these are low-amount group insurances and life insurance with a capital fund. The market is expected to grow. Another area of high development since 1999 are pension funds. In 1999, Poland underwent a pension system reform, which was aimed to prepare the society for changes related to the unavoidable, even though still distant, ageing of the society. The reform consisted in diversification of allocation of pension premia towards mixed, three-pillar model, with a part of money invested in commercial companies. As a result of the reform, pension funds market underwent a strong development. These funds invest a total of around PLN 90 billion (the value of net equity of open pension funds in January 2006). Pension reform in Poland was one of the first of its type implemented in the Central and Eastern Europe after 1989. Table 32.1 Insurance market in Poland
(Percentage share in the market of the indivdual insurers depending by gross written premium in 2006) | | PZU | 20,4 | | PZU Życie | 20,2 | | Commercial Union Życie | 6,5 | | Warta | 4,6 | | Amplico Life | 4,3 | | Allianz Życie Polska S.A. | 3,8 | | ING Nationale Nederlanden | 3,5 | | Ergo Hestia | 3,1 | | Other | 28,6 |
Source: PIU, Annual report
http://www.piu.org.pl/
About the development of the market:
http://www.piu.org.pl/piu/index/
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