At Croatian Insurance Days in Opatija, the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (Hanfa) Board President Ante Žigman framed climate risk as a present-day challenge for business models and market stability, with particular transmission channels into the insurance sector. He also pointed to continued insurance market growth in 2024 and referenced the start of insurance sector stress testing activities. Žigman reported that the number of policies rose by 3 percent in 2024 and gross written premium increased by almost 10 percent, while claims settled reached a historical high, almost twice the 2016 level. He highlighted low interest in life insurance despite positive non-life trends, linking it to a perceived gap between high insurer profit pay-outs and low profit attribution on life policies, and suggested higher attributions could support demand. On climate exposures, he noted rising interest in cover for hail, storms and other weather events and warned that, while more companies are insuring against natural disasters, households and entrepreneurs remain underinsured, especially in less developed counties. In a separate panel, Hanfa Board Member Anamarija Staničić said technology is outpacing regulation, cited European work on enabling customers to transfer data between providers to obtain more tailored products, and pointed to the European Commission’s launched simplification package starting with the Omnibus sustainability reporting package, with an expectation of further reporting simplification.
Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency 2025-05-15
Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency warns climate risks are an immediate threat to insurers and signals start of sector stress testing
At Croatian Insurance Days, Ante Žigman, President of the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency, emphasized climate risk as a challenge for business models and market stability, particularly in the insurance sector. He noted 2024 insurance market growth, with a 3% rise in policies and nearly 10% increase in gross written premiums, while claims settled reached a historical high. Anamarija Staničić highlighted technology outpacing regulation and discussed European initiatives for data transfer and reporting simplification.