According to the Central Statistical Office, inflation in January this year was 9.2 percent. We are currently experiencing the highest price increases in 22 years. However, the rising inflation does not apply to every sector, because we notice a slightly different trend in insurance.
Third-party insurance
According to research conducted by the Automotive Market Research Institute Smar, in January this year Poles paid on average 14 percent more for a new car than last year. On the other hand, the value of a used car imported from abroad increased in the same period by 4 percent. Interestingly, the rampant inflation and rising car prices did not have a significant impact on the prices of motor insurance, especially liability insurance. In January 2022, we paid on average 6 percent more for third-party insurance than last year.
Third-party liability and fully comprehensive
The situation of combining third-party insurance with voluntary fully comprehensive insurance looks slightly different. The average value of the total premium in this area has increased by 4.8 percent in comparison to January last year. However, this growth is still significantly below the average inflation rate. By contrast, the average premium value for fully comprehensive policies alone increased by 7.1 percent nationwide.
Property insurance
The situation in property insurance is different from the one observed in motor insurance. According to PKO BP data from the third quarter of 2021, prices of primary market apartments in the largest Polish cities increased from ca. 11 percent to ca. 14 percent compared to the previous year’s period. The value of second-hand apartments sold also changed – achieving about 10-12 percent growth. Along with the increase in prices, the average premium for a housing policy also increased. The increase in January 2022 over January 2021 was 9.1 percent – almost as much as inflation averaged. Thus, the policies themselves are not getting more expensive, they are going up in line with the increase in the value of the insured assets.
By analyzing the available data, it can be concluded that the segment of individual insurance successfully resists inflation. The price growth rate is lower than in other industries.
