Generali growth buoyed by record fiscal year in 2019

Generali has concocted a support initiative for customers affected by the current health pandemic

The Italian-based group posted an operating result of €5.2 billion ($5.7 billion), up 6.9 per cent on-year, with profit hitting €2.7 billion ($2.97 billion), an on-year 15.7 per cent jump, plus excellent capital position with solvency ratio at 224 per cent, and dividend increasing by 6.7 per cent to €0.96 ($1.05) per share.

The results demonstrated Generali’s technical excellence and its solid capital position, despite a deterioration in macro-economic conditions and a continuing scenario of low interest rates.

“Generali closed 2019 with the best operating result in its history and with an excellent capital position, consolidating its role as a global leader in the industry. This set of results confirm that we are fully on track to meet all the targets of the Generali 2021 strategic plan,” said Philippe Donnet, Generali Group CEO.

“Our performance in 2019 and the progress we have made towards the targets of the strategic plan also put us in a strong position to face the rapidly-evolving situation caused by the global COVID-19 outbreak around the world. Our key priority is to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our employees while guaranteeing the continuity of all our operations and maintaining our full product offering and client service levels,” he noted.

Amid tough implications of COVID-19, the group has created an extraordinary international fund of up to €100 million ($110 million) dedicated to the fight against novel coronavirus emergency on an international level.

The fund, which will primarily assist Italy but will also be available in other countries where Generali operates, will offer immediate assistance in this quickly evolving crisis and, in the medium term, aims to support economic recovery efforts in the countries affected.

In Vietnam, Generali has also applied a special support scheme to the customers who unluckily contracted COVID-19 via a supplemental payment reaching VND30 million ($1,300) per person besides their insurance benefits.

In light of the Generali 2021 plan, sustainability has become an enabler of the group’s strategies. During the course of 2019, it therefore undertook significant initiatives aimed at including sustainability in all business segments.

Thanks to these actions, Generali was incorporated for the first time in the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index and was included in the 2020 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations by Corporate Knights, which ranks the 100 most sustainable companies in the world. Last September, Generali was also confirmed in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the second year running

Established in 1831, Generali has made forays in 50 countries and territories in the world and posted more than €69.7 billion ($76.5 billion) in insurance premiums in 2019.