The French mutual insurer Covéa (MAAF, MMA, GMF) announced Thursday a net profit doubled last year compared to 2020, driven by its commercial dynamism and the profitability of its non-life activities (auto, housing, etc.).
The company earned 838 million euros last year, against 423 million during a 2020 financial year marked by an atypical loss experience and the solidarity measures taken by the group to support its policyholders, specified on the occasion of a press conference Maud Petit, Group Chief Financial Officer.
Cova is thus approaching its level of net profit for 2019, then 858 million euros.
Turnover exceeded the pre-crisis bar, reaching 19.1 billion euros (+14.7%), a record in Cova’s history.
The group continues to develop in all its markets with a good commercial dynamic in non-life insurance, underlined its chairman and CEO Thierry Derez, quoted in a press release.
At the end of 2021, there were 100,000 more auto and individual contracts than the previous year, a visible increase also in the number of homes insured, the increase in legal protection contracts and health beneficiaries, according to Ms. Petit.
One caveat, however: Cova recorded negative net inflows in life insurance (-175 million euros), the increase in unit-linked outstandings not offsetting the decline in those of euro funds.
The mutual insurance heavyweight has also reconsidered the takeover announced in mid-December of the reinsurer PartnerRe from the holding company Exor, the amount of which was specified by the assignor when it published its results on March 24, 9.15 billion dollars against 9 billion previously.
Cova still hopes to close the operation in the middle of the year, said its deputy managing director, Paul Esmein.
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The latter has also swept away the attacks aimed at derailing this takeover of the businessman Didier Calmels at the start of the year or via a complaint filed on Monday by a very young association for the safeguard of mutualist principles.
For several years, the French juggernaut of non-life insurance has been seeking to develop in reinsurance, that is to say, to also become an insurer of insurers.
In 2018, he wanted to get his hands on the French Scor, an attempt at the origin of a terrible media and legal conflict between the two parties, closed last year.
Through its various networks, Cova claims 11.6 million members and customers in France.