Road traffic has regained its 2019 levels, lost during the pandemic due to the ensuing travel limits, but the number of car accidents still remains low. This was stated by the number one of Unipol, Carlo Cimbri, in the telephone conference with analysts on 6 August that followed the announcement of the half-yearly numbers, which showed consolidated profits of 652 million (+ 5.6% on 2020). “Traffic – said the CEO of the Bolognese insurance group – has returned to 2019 levels but with much lower complaints, the frequency is not currently at those levels: it will return, in how soon we will see it”. Cimbri, with particular reference to RC auto, then added that, at the same time, “prices at market level in the last four to five years have seen a 35% drop in the average premium. It is clear that as the next trend, prices will only be able to adjust again, in 2020 we have seen an extraordinary phase and prices have fallen, we have lowered them by 7-8% last year, it is clear that they will have to align themselves to find the right one. technical balance in the light of the evolution of claims frequencies »added Cimbri.
After that, the number one of Unipol tried to provide an explanation for the increase in traffic but not for the accidents: “We don’t think there is only one, there are many things that concur”, Cimbri put his hands on, underlining that in July however, there was a 16% drop in claims reports compared to the same month of 2019. “We are not yet at the normality of citizens’ lives, many companies work in smart working, in addition, the density of traffic in large cities has changed, it is not concentrated in certain hours. It circulates in a different way. There is also an improvement in the technology and safety of cars, which perhaps has an impact. We prudently do not consider what we are observing now structural. We should expect a realignment of the frequency to previous values and that is why we are vigilant about pricing policies. We will accompany any increases in frequencies with pricing policies to maintain technical equilibrium »concluded Cimbri.
In recent months, the tones around the debate on accidents and pandemics had risen when the president of IVASS (insurance supervisory authority), Luigi Federico Signorini, had asked the companies to “return” to customers a greater portion of what they had saved during the closure of the activities linked to the arrival of the virus, amounting in total to 2.3 billion (of which only 800 million returned to consumers in the form of refreshments).
The president of ANIA (National Association of Insurance Companies), Maria Bianca Farina, in her speech at the annual meeting, had replied that insurance companies are continuing to reduce the prices of motor liability insurance also with interventions “on contracts through discounts , suspensions (increased by more than 40%) and postponement of terms; these are interventions still in progress. It should also be noted that the claims rate is already significantly increasing in the current year, while the reduction in prices continues with the same intensity observed last year. Consequently, while in 2020 the auto business showed a positive balance, a net deterioration can be expected for 2021 “, the president of Ania pointed out.