Summary of 2019 of SEB Elu- ja Pensionikindlustus

SEB decided to simplify the model of operation of its life insurance companies in the three Baltic states and therefore, in December 2019, they were merged to form a single Baltic company. The new consolidated company was named SEB Life and Pension Baltic SE. The head office of the new company is located in Riga and its branches in Estonia and Lithuania. Estonian insurance and pension clients are serviced by the Estonian branch of SEB Life and Pension Baltic SE.

Due to the merger, a new management board was formed for the new organisation, the chairman of which is Arnolds Čulkstēns. Other members of the management board are Santa Poriņa-Palsāne, Rokas Gylys, Kristīne Lomanovska, and Triin Messimas, who is also the head of the Estonian branch.

The merger will create a new platform for continuing to provide best life and pension insurance solutions to clients in all three Baltic states and meet their needs even better.

Results of 2019

The Estonian life insurance market is in a slight decline – in 2019, 26,964 new life insurance agreements were concluded (29,471 in 2018). Based on the statistics of the Estonian branch of SEB Life and Pension Baltic SE, 38.8% of all new life insurance agreements, i.e. 10,473 new agreements, were concluded at SEB. This is a decline of 10.2% compared to 2018. The amount of additional covers also declined by 5%.

Most insurance agreements are still concluded to cover risks related to loan obligations: last year, the Estonian branch of SEB Life and Pension Baltic SE concluded 8,534 loan protection agreements (7,704 in 2018).

We have consistently improved the service quality, raised awareness among clients, and increased their satisfaction. Thanks to this, our clients are given the most suitable and easily understandable solution, which can also be seen from the general market statistics: namely, only 3.2% of SEB’s insurance agreements were terminated prematurely, which is one of the lowest indicators on the Estonian insurance market.

Insurance indemnities

In 2019, 749 insured events took place with people insured by us. We disbursed indemnities for these events in the total amount of more than 1.43 million euros (1.2 million in 2018). We disbursed most indemnities for temporary incapacity for work caused by accidents, but the largest amounts were disbursed upon the death of the insured person.

We refused to disburse indemnities in 4.94% of all cases. The main reason for refusal was the fact that no insured event complying with the terms and conditions had taken place.

Pension savings and disbursement agreements

As at 31 December 2019, 149,865 clients were saving money in SEB’s second-pillar pension funds and 27,226 clients were also investing in their future via our third-pillar pension funds and life insurance savings solutions. We have made an effort to help our clients trust our investment choices and see saving for pension as a long-term contribution where, in addition to the short-term result, the suitable investment strategy and the final result complying with the chosen risk level are important.

Looking at market statistics, it becomes apparent that many of our clients choose SEB as their partner also after the active saving phase: in 2019, 180 clients concluded a second pension pillar disbursement agreement with SEB.

Accounting for additional profit of agreements

As at the end of 2019, SEB had 27,605 long-term savings agreements, of which 18,052 were related to accounting for additional profit. Regarding the additional profit of 2019, SEB decided the following.

• For agreements with non-reducible profits, additional profit will not be accounted for, as the low-interest environment persists and the long-term profit forecast is not very promising.
• For agreements with reducible additional profits, additional profit will not be accounted for.
• For agreements with guaranteed additional profits, we will ensure the agreed additional profits.
• For pension agreements (second pillar disbursement agreements), additional profit will not be accounted for. In 2019, the economic result of pension agreements was –978.67 euros and no profit was generated. Therefore, the 50% of the pension agreement profit of the financial year will not be distributed to the policyholders of pension contracts, as stipulated in the Funded Pensions Act, and no additional profits will be assigned.

Information related to accounting for additional profit will be sent to clients individually.

If you have any questions, please call our insurance line at 665 8020 or write to us at kindlustusleping@seb.ee.