Commission income increased in both 1998 and 1999, by NOK 37 and 76 million respectively. Profits remained rather stable from 1998 to 1999 for insurance brokers. The NOK 2 million increase is attributed to the increase in commission income from NOK 461 million in 1998 to NOK 537 million in 1999, which yielded a NOK 27 million increase in operating profits. Profits fell NOK 13 million from 1997 to 1998, despite the fact that commission income increased NOK 37 million from NOK 427 million. The decline in profits is mainly because operating costs increased relatively more than commission income in this period.
Insurance brokers act as an intermediary between clients and insurers.
The statistics cover all insurance brokers who have reported to and are registered with the Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission. Acquisitions have taken place in the industry, some companies have disappeared and a few new ones have entered the scene. This fact combined with the transition to the new Accounting Act of 1999 makes it somewhat difficult to compare figures over time.