The remarkable long-term catch-up potential of the CEE region can be seen in its insurance density. This is used as a key indicator of the state of development of an insurance market. Insurance density indicates how much each inhabitant of a country spends each year for insurance services. The overall insurance density in the CEE region is currently only one-sixteenth of the Western European level. In 2006, premiums per capita averaged USD 212 in the CEE region, compared to an average of USD 3,305 in the EU-15 countries.
In the non-life insurance business, the values for the CEE region and the EU-15 countries are currently USD 133 versus USD 1,107, which means that the insurance density in CEE is approximately one-eight of the Western European level in this area. The values in the life insurance business are currently USD 79 for the CEE region and USD 2,198 in the EU-15 countries, or a ratio of 1 to 28. These figures show clearly that the CEE region has great catch-up potential in both the life and non-life insurance segments.
This is also shown clearly by the growth recorded in recent years. For example, between 2002 and 2006, the insurance density in CEE rose by approximately 130% in only four years, nearly twice as fast as the approximate 67% growth recorded in the EU-15 countries. In contrast to the EU-15 countries, where growth is primarily due to an increase in private pension products, both life and non-life insurance are booming equally in the CEE region.
