Dr. Cyril Roux:

The tide turned in 2009 in terms of underwriting profit and loss. The shareholders shouldered all the losses sustained since the beginning of the decade. As the losses were removed from the wealth of the companies, they resulted in a net loss for shareholders and the value of the businesses was reduced. The solvency of the firms was eroded and shareholders were asked to put more money into the companies. During recent years, hundreds of millions of euro was put back into these companies through capital increases by the shareholders. In a sense, they have covered the losses. In the years when companies made large profits, one could say policyholders were paying too much for cover. However, during recent years, they have not been paying break-even prices.

What is the situation with premiums charged today? We will know only in a few years if they are over or under break-even. Our sense is they may be barely breaking even, given the claims cost and charges.