Insurance sticks with T-bills

  • 2002-12-12
VILNIUS

Lithuanian insurance companies invest over two-thirds of their funds in government securities, whereas riskier investments in stocks account for a small part of insurers' portfolio.

According to the data provided by the State Insurance Supervisory Authority, Lithuania's non-life insurers invested a total of 446.6 million litas (129.4 million euros) into government securities as of early 2002, which represented 64.6 percent of the total investment portfolio. Life insurers invested some 166.597 million litas (81.3 percent) in state securities.

As of late October, 31 insurance companies operated in Lithuania, of which 9 provided life insurance services and 22 operated in the non-life sector.

The Lithuanian life insurance market should grow annually by about one-third in terms of the amount of premiums in the coming four years, according to the forecasts of the local life insurer Commercial Union.

The country's insurance market should post the strongest growth in 2003. The union forecasts that the total amount of premiums written by Lithuanian insurers will rise by 32.6 percent to 167 million litas.