• Consolidated net profit €864m (-20.5% compared to 2019)

  • Proposed dividend €0.28 per share

  • Direct insurance income of €12.2bn

    • Non-life business: €7.9bn (-3.5%)

    • Life business: €4.3bn (-26.0%)

  • Leadership status confirmed in the healthcare area: UniSalute premium

    income up 7.7% compared to 2019

  • Combined Ratio1 87.0% (94.2% in 2019)

  • Consolidated solvency ratio of 214%2 (187% in 2019)

  • 1 Net of reinsurance.

  • 2 Figure calculated on the basis of the partial internal model to be considered as preliminary since the Supervisory Authority will be notified of the definitive results in accordance with the legally imposed deadlines.

Bologna, 12 February 2021

The Board of Directors of Unipol Gruppo S.p.A., which met yesterday under the chairmanship of Pierluigi Stefanini, analysed the preliminary consolidated results for 2020. The definitive results will be examined by the governing body at its meeting scheduled for 18 March next.

In a year marked by the outbreak of the Covid-19 emergency, the Group supported significant projects in favour of the community, customers, the agency distribution network and employees.

UnipolSai donated €20m to the community during the year to help tackle the Coronavirus emergency. In the areas most affected in Italy, Unipol, in close cooperation with the authorities and the civil protection authority, allocated said resources to increase the number of beds in hospitals, especially in intensive care and semi-intensive care units, and to purchase the necessary healthcare equipment to help stop the epidemic from spreading.

With regard to customers, the Group established a Coronavirus medical consultation service available 24/7 for its policyholders through the UniSalute Medical Centre. UnipolSai launched #UniSalutePerTe healthcare coverage to address the possible consequences of Covid-19 and offered it at no additional cost to all its customers.

UnipolSai also created the #AndràTuttoBene healthcare protection product especially for companies for the protection of their employees, and launched the #UnMesePerTe campaign to reimburse 10 million customers for an amount equal to a month's car insurance by using vouchers when renewing their policies.

With regard to the agency distribution network, significant financial support measures were introduced along with support to ensure safe working conditions. Mechanisms were also developed to communicate with customers via digital means, especially for the payment systems and electronic signatures on contracts.

Starting from March 2020, WFH mechanisms were introduced to safeguard the health of Group employees, using technological solutions implemented in just a few weeks to enable over 9,300 people to work on a more flexible basis. These mechanisms are still in use. The Group hired 581 people in 2020 (372 in Italy), 252 of whom are under 30.

Economic-financial results

The consolidated net profit book value amounted to €864m (-20.5% compared to 2019)

There was a normalised consolidated net profit of €905m, significantly up (+23.6%) on the figure of €732m of the previous year. The 2020 result does not include the effects of the recalculation of the badwill on the stake in BPER resulting from the dilution of its shareholding (which fell from 19.7% to 18.9%) following BPER's capital increase. Said capital increase falls within the broader context of the transaction between BPER Banca and Intesa Sanpaolo, for the acquisition by BPER of a company branch following the acquisition of control by the Intesa Group of Ubi Banca. This transaction also provides for the acquisition by UnipolSai of company branches relating to the insurance companies in which Ubi Banca has stakes. On the other hand, the 2019 normalised result did not include the extraordinary effects of the first-time consolidation of BPER in equity or the one-off charges related to agreements made with the trade union organisations for the solidarity fund and other forms of voluntary redundancy (amounting to €66m after taxes).

Direct insurance income, including reinsurance ceded, stood at €12,210m, down by 12.9% from the figure at 31 December 2019 (€14,014m). 2020 was strongly affected by the consequences of the healthcare emergency caused by the Covid-19 pandemic which influenced both commercial activities and claims.

In the Non-Life Business, direct income for the Group amounted to €7,882m, with a 3.5% reduction on the figure of €8,167m recorded in 2019.

MV premium income stood at €3,985m compared to €4,178m in 2019 (-4.6%) reflecting the effects of the #UnMesePerTe campaign which gave a month's car insurance discount to all customers who had policies with the company and due to competitive pressure on average MV liability premiums. Income amounted to €3,896m in the Non-MV business (-2.3% compared to the figure of €3,989m in 2019), with less of a fall-off, due in part to the sale of specific products linked to the healthcare emergency.

UnipolSai S.p.A. income recorded non-life premiums of €6,772m, down 3.1% mainly due to the fall-off in MV premiums. Linear, the other main insurance company in the Group operating in the MV business, recorded a total of €185m in premiums, an 0.6% increase thanks to growth in its customer base. UniSalute increased its income to €483m (+7.7%) thanks to the acquisition of significant new corporate contracts.

In the non-life bancassurance business, Arca Assicurazioni posted €140m in premiums, an increase of 3.0% over the previous year thanks to the good performance of its non-life and third-party insurance business.

The reduction in road traffic had a positive influence on claims due to the containment measures put in place against the Covid-19 pandemic. There was therefore a reduction in both the frequency of MV liability claims, although with higher rates of serious loss, and the frequency of claims related to other vehicle-related insurance cover. Compared to 2019, the year was impacted to a lesser extent by loss from weather events, even though the levels were sustained and there was less reinsurance recovery.

The company continues to be a European leader in the number of black boxes installed in vehicles which amounted to 4.2 million in 2020 (+5% compared to 2019). For the first time in Italy, the telematics applied to the insurance meant that the Group could reimburse customers with an amount equal to a month's worth of their MV liability policy, with a voucher to be used when renewing their contract.

In this context, as at 31 December 2020, the Unipol Group recorded a combined ratio1 of 87.0% (85.4% direct business), an improvement on the figure of 94.2% recorded in 2019 (93.7% direct business). The loss ratio1 stood at 58.8% (66.3% as at 31 December 2019). The expense ratio1 amounted to 28.2% (27.9% the previous year).

This is an excerpt of the original content. To continue reading it, access the original document here.

Attachments

  • Original document
  • Permalink

Disclaimer

Unipol Gruppo Finanziario S.p.A. published this content on 12 February 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 12 February 2021 06:21:01 UTC.