Ljubljana - The Triglav Group, Slovenia's largest insurer, saw net profit increase by 53% to EUR 113 million in 2021 year-on-year as premium revenue rose by 10% to EUR 1.46 billion, the company said on Wednesday. The growth was driven by the technical-insurance part of the business and the management of client assets in mutual funds and individual management.

The group's pre-tax profit stood at EUR 132.6 million last year, up by 46% on 2020, show unaudited data. Net return on equity reached 12.5%.

Gross written premium totalled EUR 1.35 billion and growth was posted across all segments and in all markets. Property insurance premiums were up by 12%, life and pension insurance premiums by 8% and health insurance premiums by 1%, the group said.

The gross claims of EUR 736.6 million were not significantly different from the previous two years, increasing by 6% compared to 2020. "This was due to the multi-year growth of the insurance portfolio and natural mass claims events, which were less pronounced than in the previous year," the group said.

Total consolidated gross operating costs were up by 9% to EUR 333.4 million, mainly due to costs of insurance acquisition, digitalisation and investment in IT.

The core company Zavarovalnica Triglav posted EUR 73.4 million in net profit in 2021, a 27% increase on 2020, and EUR 848.6 million in revenue, up by 11% year-on-year.

The company's pre-tax profit rose by 21% to EUR 85.7 million, and the volume of gross claims stayed level at EUR 408.9 million. Gross written premium stood at EUR 794.4 million, up 10% year-on-year, and gross operating costs grew by 8% to EUR 195 million. Zavarovalnica Triglav chairman Andrej Slapar said that the results were above plans.