Insurance company Groupama Asigurari saw its gross subscribed premiums down 9 percent in the first six months of the year, to EUR 96 million, the company has announced.

Property and casualty insurance fell by 7.6 percent over the period, largely due to the decline in the motor segment related to the continued drop in vehicle sales and strong competition on pricing between market players. “The difficult economic climate meant there were fewer personal loans (the primary life and health insurance market in Romania), which negatively impacted life and health insurance premium income, down by 22.1 percent,” according to the group's financial report.

“Always seeking to diversify its distribution, the Group signed an agreement with Renault Dacia in Romania to distribute its motor insurance products to the country’s car manufacturer concessions,” said the group.

Groupama has so far invested around EUR 500 million in developing its local subsidiary through mergers and acquisitions. It bought BT Asigurari in 2007, then OTP Garancia and Asiban.