Despite the projected growth, the Reinsurance segment is anticipated to remain under pressure.

Friday 28 June 2013, Amsterdam

The Republic of Croatia will become the 28th member of the European Union (EU) on July 1, 2013. The Croatian economy grew at a healthy rate, averaging 4-55 annually during 2001-2008. This facilitated the growth of insurance services in the country. However, the global financial and European debt crises affected the Croatian insurance industry, which registered negative growth during 2009-2011. The economic recession and rise in the unemployment rate affected the demand for life insurance products, resulting in a decline in gross written premium at a CAGR of -0.8% between 2008 and 2012.

According to the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (HANFA), the regulator of the insurance industry, there were 27 licensed insurance companies in Croatia at the end of 2012. The Croatian life insurance segment is small and competitive with the five leading companies accounting for a combined market share of 58.3% in 2011. Over the next few years, insurers are expected to focus on minimizing costs to write new business, business strategies to develop new products and enhancing distribution channels to provide impetus to the growth.

With the accession to the EU, Croatia has to abide by Solvency II norms, which are scheduled to be effective from January 2014. The enactment of Solvency II will result in the consolidation of the Croatian insurance industry, and companies are preparing to meet the regulatory requirements outlined in Solvency II and looking for ways to increase their capital reserves and risk-management standards. Smaller companies are expected to find it difficult to meet the new requirements, given the lack of scale to absorb the extra costs and high competition. This will result in the consolidation of the industry with large companies acquiring smaller ones to expand their product ranges and grow by creating synergies in business.

The penetration rate in the Croatian life insurance segment, which is measured as the total gross written premium as a percentage of GDP, is low when compared to the EU average. The life insurance penetration rate stood at 1.8% in 2011 as compared to an average of 3.1% for European countries. Furthermore, the density of the Croatian life insurance segment measured US$241 in 2011 as compared to the EU average of US$958.


Target audience

• Insurance companies
• Suppliers to insurance companies.
• Contractor research organizations
• Trade body, academia or other industry observers
• Companies involved at any stage in the manufacturing, procurement and marketing process
• Marketing and advertising agencies

Reasons to buy

• Realize the growth potential and attractiveness in the Croatian Life Insurance industry through means of Timetric’s analysis and outlook’s.
• Gain a better understanding of the industry by reviewing analysis of the key industry trends and drivers.
• Plan for the future by understanding the current business environment and country risk.