Written premiums in Brazil totaled 8.36 billion Brazilian reaisin January, up 1.78% year over year, according to data from insurance regulatorSusep.

Of this total, auto insurance premiums accounted for 2.42 billionreais, down 8.1% from a year earlier. Susep attributed the decline to Brazil's recession, which has impacted vehicle sales.

Meanwhile, life insurance premiums came to 776 million reaisin January, up 0.44% from January 2015, Susep data showed.

As of April 7, US$1 wasequivalent to 3.70 Brazilian reais.