The group saw its collected premiums grow on all markets where it is present, Sava Re said in a press release on Friday.

In Slovenia, premiums in property insurance were up by 5.7% and in life insurance by 3.7%. The group recorded an almost 10% growth in premiums on foreign markets, both in property and life insurance.

The 5.5% drop in net profit compared to 2016 was meanwhile a consequence of major damage payouts related to natural disasters, both in the insurance and reinsurance segment.

Gross damages were up by 14.9%, while net expenses for damage payouts were up by 10.3%.

Zavarovalnica Sava, the Maribor-based insurer which is part of the Sava Re group, alone posted a EUR 25m net profit last year, which is slightly less than in 2016.

It collected EUR 365.7m in gross insurance premiums, while paying out a total of EUR 236.6m in gross damages, with both figures going up by 5% year-on-year, Zavarovalnica Sava said in a press release.

Chairman David Kastelic noted in the press release that the insurer had launched a supplementary health insurance plan at the end of 2017, and would next week start marketing an upgraded property insurance plan.

Zavarovalnica Sava is even more ambitious this year than last year, as it plans to post a net profit of EUR 30m.