MILAN, May 25 (Reuters) – Italian insurer Generali ( GASI.MI ) confirmed on Thursday all targets in its business plan for 2024 after strong performance in non-life business more than compensated for weakness in the life sector in the first quarter. , high profit driving.
Generali reported net income of €190 million in its life business as attractive yields on Italian government bonds prompted customers to switch from life policies to BTP bonds, chief financial officer Cristiano Borian told a press conference.
Borian, this is especially true for customers who buy insurance products in bank branches and such products are offered as investments instead of looking for real insurance coverage.
“We have already seen this trend in the last quarter of 2022 and it will continue in the first quarter of 2023, but the banking channel is less than 10% of the group’s total life savings,” said Borian.
The Bank of Italy’s latest financial stability report said last week that redemptions in the life insurance sector accounted for 85% of premium payments at the end of March, compared to 53% at the end of December.
For insurers that rely on banks and financial advisors for distribution, redemptions totaled 119% of premiums.
Overall, Generali’s life division was established, generating profits that grew 1% year-on-year.
In the year Adjusted net profit for the first three months of 2023 was 1.23 billion euros ($1.35 billion), up 49.7% year-on-year, while closely followed by the market, which rose 22.1% to 1.82 billion euros.
Beginning this quarter, Generali began reporting adjusted net profit to better reflect adjusted business activity, it said in a statement.
Generali maintains a strong capital position at the end of 2022 with a leverage ratio of 221% at 227% at the end of March. It’s up 228% since May 19, Borian said.
($1 = 0.9084 EUR)
Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; Editing by Federico Maccioni
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