STA, 16 August 2019 - The number of compulsory car insurance policies has been showing an upward trend in the past few years due to the improved economic situation and the growth of the number of registered vehicles, with revenue from premiums being on the rise for the past three years.
Meanwhile, an analysis by the Slovenian Insurance Association indicates that in general, the value of premiums has seen a downward trend in the past decade.
Slovenian insurers dealing in compulsory car insurance sold 1,914.134 such policies last year, a 4.6% increase compared to the previous year and a record number so far, according to the Insurance Association.
Eight Slovenian insurers were selling third-party liability insurance policies in 2018. They sold a total of EUR 244.2 million premiums, up 6.6% on 2017, shows the association's data.
Stronger competition in the insurance market has resulted in lower premiums. Despite the upward trend of sold policies, the premiums have been getting cheaper in the past decade - by 2.8% per year on average.
However, the past three years saw a rise in the prices, as well as an increase in paying out damage compensation - in 2018, an increase in compensation payouts was more substantial than an increase in charged premiums.
Payouts in 2018 amounted to EUR 159 million, up 10.4% on 2017.
At the beginning of the 1990s car insurance policies accounted for the majority of Slovenia's insurance market, but since then they have been giving way to life and health insurance.
Last year car insurance policies were thus accounting for only 10% of the association members' service portfolio, representing third place among non-life insurance policies.
Motorisation has been on the rise in most EU countries since 2008, amounting to record 466 cars per 1,000 EU citizens on average in 2017.
Slovenia is placed 12th among EU countries according to its motorisation rate and above the EU average, recording record 553 cars per 1,000 Slovenians in 2018.
An average Slovenian spent more than EUR 230 in 2017 for car insurance expenses, which is above the EU average of some EUR 228 - a record figure so far.
Since Slovenia's independence the number of registered vehicles has more than doubled due to the increasing purchasing power. Almost 75% of registered motor vehicles are cars, a trend which has resulted in a decline of public transport.
