Insurance as a financial activity

Insurance companies play an important role in the financial markets.
They belong to the group of the non-depository financial institutions.

The major characteristics of insurance companies stem from the fundamental characteristics of insurance itself

• the transfer of risk from the individual to the insurance company
• the risk- sharing, that is the distribution of a potential loss among all the parties involved

The insurance companies assume risks governed by the loss ratio principle (based on the law of large numbers).

It is important to mention the social and developmental component of insurance, the latter component being closely related to the economic significance of insurance.

The social component is expressed through the function of life insurance and the individual's preparing for old age, whereas the developmental component is connected with the role of insurance as an intermediary, the transfer and allocation of temporary available funds, thus contributing to the development of the capital market and the economy as a whole.

Share of single financial intermediaries in the overall financial intermediaries assets at the end of 2011

Share of gross written premium in GDP

Premium per capita

Number of employees in the insurance companies in Republic of Croatia

* data do not include employees in Reinsurance company and in Croatian Nuclear Pool

Source: Publication Croatian Insurance Market 2011 issued by Croatian Insurance Bureau