30.05.2003 |
Loss expenses and benefits paid increased in the 1st quarter of 2003 by 3.7% to 598.6 million Euro, which is low in proportion to premium development.
The positive development of business revenue in recurring premium continued in the life assurance line. The volume of recurring premium written climbed by 8.5 % to 191.9 million Euro. Single premium business and special products continued to be clearly withdrawn in favour of promoting current business; the result was a reduction of 20.6% to 72.8 million Euro. All in all this lead to a 1.5 % decrease in the premiums from life assurance, down to 264.7 million Euro. The share of risk premium of the FinanceLife Lebensversicherung AG taken into account in the quarterly report is 5.4 million Euro. The savings portion of the premiums not included in the consolidated premium revenue of the unit-linked life assurance in accordance with international accounting principles amounted to 17.6 million Euro in the 1st quarter. The development of benefits including changes in the actuarial provision was, with a decrease of 1.1 % to 273.0 million Euro, within the range of the normal business trend.
- Property and casualty insurance premiums
Health insurance contributed to the positive overall result of the UNIQA Group Austria with premium growth of 4.1 % to 183.2 million Euro. Insurance benefits including changes in the actuarial provision increased in the health insurance line by 2.2 % to 159.7 million Euro.
The total investments of the UNIQA Group Austria increased by 5.3% or 596.0 Euro million in the first three months of the financial year, to € 11.9 billion. The (net) current investment income is, at 121.4 million Euro, 3.6 % below the level of the previous year. The continuing negative development of the capital markets in the first quarter is burdening the extraordinary financial results of the UNIQA Group Austria. The drops in stock value have largely been recovered by the positive development of the stock markets in the current second quarter.
The development of acquisition costs is influenced by special effects as a result of taking over the property reinsurance business of the Polish market and including FinanceLife in the scope of consolidation for the first time. The total costs of the UNIQA Group are developing satisfactorily as a result of the cost reduction programme already introduced in 2001. While acquisition costs, adjusted to account for the above mentioned special effects, increased in proportion to the course of business by 8.1 % to 119.1 million Euro, the other operating expenses could be kept at the same level at 48.6 million Euro.
Although there has been a noticeable recovery of the capital markets at the beginning of the second quarter, because of the uncertainties concerning the further development of the economic environment, however, it is not presently possible to make a reliable prognosis for the development of the capital markets during rest of the year.
- Share in Mannheimer Versicherung
Vienna, 30. May 2003