Insurers pay up to 2.5 times more for savings than deposits

2023-04-24 02:31:27

The great bank continues to resist entering the battle of the liability remuneration despite the fact that the European Central Bank (BCE) seems determined to continue raising interest rates. This firmness has triggered that the products marketed by the entities insurers offer returns that multiply by more than 2 the average offered by financial institutions in their time deposits.

According to data from the Bank of Spain, banks pay interest of 0.86% for new deposits in Februarythe latest data known, while the returns of the best savings insurance ranges from 2.1% to 2.28%, that is, they mean multiplying between 2.4% and 2.6% the average interest on deposits from large banks. The offer of these products aimed at the most conservative investors that would equal or exceed the remuneration offered by insurers come either from foreign banks or from small, fundamentally digital entities that seek to expand their customer base.

And it does not seem that the situation is going to change in the short term, since as the CEO of Bankinter, María Dolores Dancausa, recalled during the presentation of the bank’s results for the first quarter, “the time to remunerate deposits has not arrived” since that financial institutions are more focused on offering investment funds and fixed income products, which in the long run earn them income via commissions. Also because they seek to delay the cost of the liability as much as possible in order to maximize their customer margin while the repricing of the credit due to the rise in the Euribor is transferred.

Instead, yeah insurance companies are covering this gap. For example, interested parties can still contract at the offices of Mapfre your Million Life savings insurance 2which offers a guaranteed return on 2,28% and for a duration of two years. In addition, in the event of death, the beneficiary receives the capital equivalent to the capitalized premium at the technical interest rate of 2.87% per year. The product is available from 3,000 euros. In this way, the company chaired by Antonio Huertas updated its offer after verifying that Million Life 1, with a guaranteed return of 1.91% over one year, was widely accepted.

Also Mutual Madrid You renewed your initial product and you can still subscribe to your Savings Plan Plus Fidelity II, available from 750 eurosand that increased profitability to 2.1% from 1.5%. Like Mapfre’s flagship product, it is also savings insurance that carries a premium in the event of the owner’s death. For its part, Occident, of the Catalana Occidente group, has two savings insurances, under the name Ahorro Creciente and Ahorro Capital, with similar remunerations.

With room to go further

The fever unleashed by the Treasure letters together to the new increases in the official price of money in the eurozone could push to continue increasing the remuneration offered by these products. Precisely, Huertas has advised investors interested in State paper to go through the offices of the insurer. He has also hinted that they have enough capacity to match the remuneration they offer, which reaches up to 3%. It should not be forgotten that short-term bills are already close to 3% interest, while for the six- and twelve-month state debt they have already exceeded that percentage.

In this sense, and although it is not savings insurance, Mapfre has also opted for investment products, with the launch of a 100% guaranteed fundFondmapfre Garantía V, which pays coupons with a 3.2% interest, although the final APR stands at 3.01%. In addition, it has some liquidity since the company offers liquidity windows without redemption fees, the first being scheduled for November 16. According to Mapfre itself, the rise in interest rates has made it possible to recover the supply of these products.

And for now, this strategy is having good results according to the figures released by Unespa, the employers’ association that brings together insurance companies. According to the data for the first quarter, the pull that these products have experienced has allowed bill insurance 26% more in the first three months of the year. Likewise, the revenues through these products have experienced a year-on-year growth of 78%coinciding with the reactivation of these offers by insurers.