The final event took place last night in Verona’s Salesian institute San Zeno, which is used for meetings with Cattolica's members in the region. The initiative was well attended: over 3,500 people including members and guests took part in the six evenings from late October to 2 December in Peschiera, Soave, Pescantina, Fiera di Verona, Legnago, and again in Verona.

As in previous occasions, Chairperson Paolo Bedoni and Chief Executive Officer Giovan Battista Mazzucchelli presented the results of last quarter’s financial statements to around 600 participants, underscoring “the importance of having a space for mutual understanding to explain what the group is doing and which directions it intends to take to achieve the company’s future goals.”

“We want to grow together, improve our cooperative nature, and create a strong connection with the territory formed of trust and commitment,” commented Bedoni. “We will achieve this by undertaking a sound, dependable and responsible project that guarantees development, employment and solidarity, in full resonance between what we say and do.”

Mazzucchelli explained the data Cattolica recorded from the first of January to 30 September 2010, a period in which all reference parameters were higher than the same time last year. Premiums income increased 17.7 per cent, equal to €3,749 million in absolute value, Non-Life increased 4.1 per cent (1,120 million) and Life increased 24.7 per cent (2,614 million). Consolidated net profit was €61 million with the combined ratio, a true reference indicator that measures profit health of insurance companies (above 100 is a loss, below is a profit), which stood at 97.7 per cent (97.5 per cent in 2009), the best at national level of the companies listed on Italy's stock exchange.

“The financial markets continue to be shaky,” noted Mazzucchelli, “but our company, which has always moved with great caution, also has what it takes to play a leading role in the near future.”