Hungary's government presses insurers to reverse hikes in premiums

UNIQA Insurance AG

24/04/2025 10:11

By Gergely Szakacs

BUDAPEST, April 24 (Reuters) - Hungary's government pressed insurance companies on Thursday to roll back rises in premiums they have made or plan to make this year, saying it would intervene unless insurance companies abide by the proposal voluntarily within the next two weeks.

        The demand comes as Prime Minister Viktor Orban grapples with a rebound in inflation amid a weak economic recovery, which is complicating his prospects for re-election next year.

"Home insurance, car insurance or life insurance have become very expensive," Economy Minister Marton Nagy said in a Facebook video.

"For us, it would be acceptable if premiums do not rise this year and insurers avoid inflation adjustments. Wherever these have been implemented, they should be reversed," he said, adding if this did not happen within two weeks, the government would intervene.

        He did not say what such an intervention would entail. Officials for the Association of Hungarian Insurance Companies did not immediately respond to emailed questions for comment.

The largest players in Hungary's insurance market include NN Group, Generali, Groupama, Allianz and Uniqa based on an end-2023 tally by the National Bank of Hungary.

The International Monetary Fund projects Hungary's economy to grow by just 1.4% in 2025 after two years of near-stagnation, which would cap the weakest three-year stretch leading up to a parliamentary election since Orban took power in 2010.

Hungary's inflation rate rebounded to the European Union's highest levels at the start of the year, prompting Orban's government to impose food price controls and force telecoms companies and banks to abandon plans for cost rises.

Some opinion polls show opposition leader Peter Magyar's centre-right Tisza Party has overtaken Orban's right-wing Fidesz with about a year left until next year's parliamentary election.

Hungary's headline inflation dipped to an annual 4.8% in March based on Eurostat figures, as food and services inflation slowed. Even so, Hungary ran the EU's second-highest inflation behind neighbouring Romania's 5.1% rate.

 (Reporting by Gergely Szakacs
Editing by Frances Kerry)

 ((gergely.szakacs@thomsonreuters.com ; https://x.com/szakacsg ; +36 1 882 3606 ; https://www.reuters.com/authors/gergely-szakacs/))