Bulgaria's general insurance contracted 1.5 per cent, life assurance 18.5 per cent, and the insurace sector as a whole 4.2 per cent in January-November 2009, year on year, the Financial Supervision Commission said in a press release on Monday.

The gross premiums written for January-November 2009 amounted to 1,285,722,000 leva in general insurance and 196,748,000 leva in life assurance.

Motor Own Damage Insurance (42.9 per cent) and Third Party Liability (27.4 per cent), or a total of 70.3 per cent of the premium income from direct general insurance in the sector, continue to take up the largest share in the aggergate portfolio of general insurance companies. Next comes Fire and Natural Disaster Insurance and Other Property Damage Insurance, which brought a premium income of 248,844,000 leva of 19.4 per cent of the aggregate premium income.

The premium income increased most from the like period of 2008 in Motor Third Party Liability and in Fire and Natural Disaster Insurance, by 52,616,000 leva and 23,047,000 leva, respectively.

Source: BTA