23.05.2003 |
UNIQA Expands its Engagement in Eastern Europe
Dr. Konstantin Klien, General Director of UNIQA Versicherungen AG, sees here a recognition of the expertise and strategy of the UNIQA Group Austria: "In the markets of Central and Eastern Europe we see our strategic growth market of tomorrow, and we are constantly on the lookout for opportunities to accelerate and optimize our market development. The two companies in Poland and Slovakia are useful additions to our existing engagements in these countries and are well suited to support our development and growth strategy in these markets. This transaction underscores our strategy and confirms our competence in the EU expansion countries. R+V transfers to us its shares and in return receives a stake in the UNIQA group and therefore in the overall results of the group. For us, this means a solution that offers all parties more potential for the future and allows them to concentrate on their respective strategic core competences - for UNIQA these lie in Central and Eastern Europe."
Poland: UNIQA/FILAR Filar S.A. was founded 10 years ago (1992) in Stettin by Polish residential building associations, with which intensive relationships still exist today. R+V Versicherung has been the leading shareholder in FILAR since 1997 and holds approximately 90 percent of the shares. FILAR has an in-house staff of approximately 620 employees. 15 representatives, which handle a majority of the inventory management and processing of damages, and approx. 1,830 agents form the sales network. In addition, FILAR has more than 100 branch locations and customer offices. With its own close relationships to the residential building associations, FILAR has a very important, and in this respect unique, distribution channel. This represents an excellent addition to and expansion of the distribution channels of UNIQA in Poland. In 2002, Filar achieved a premium volume of 33.3 million euro in property insurance, which corresponds to a market share of 1.4%. The majority of the portfolio consists of fire and other hazards, amounting to approx. 45%. The automobile share is relatively low at 29%. The life insurance business - which is still only being established - is processed via FILAR-Zycie, a 100% subsidiary of FILAR S.A. The premium volume of FILAR-Zycie was 1.4 million euro in 2002.
In 2001, UNIQA purchased the company Polonia Versicherung - which has since been renamed to UNIQA TU S.A. - and has been active in the Polish market since this time. The company headquartered in Lodz achieved a premium volume of 70.7 million euro and a market share of 2.6% in 2002. UNIQA TU S.A. sells all types of property and personal insurance as well as reinsuring business, with the exception of life insurance. The company has more than 300 employees in-house, a sales network of 58 representative offices and approximately 4,700 agents. The UNIQA company responsible for the life insurance business has a premium volume of 1.1 million euro.
Together, UNIQA and FILAR achieve a market share of 4.0% in Poland, placing them in 4th place.
Slovakia: UNIQA/R+V Poistovna R+V Poistovna a.s. with headquarters in Bratislava was founded in 1997 and is 100% owned by R+V Allgemeine Versicherung AG. The company has approximately 90 in-house employees. The sales team consists of 177 persons. In addition to its own customer consulting network, the company has also positioned itself successfully as a bank insurer. The premium revenue of 11.0 million euro is distributed approximately evenly among life, casualty and accident insurance. The total market share is approximately 1.3%. In the area of life insurance, in which the company exhibits the strongest growth figures, the emphasis lies on pure endowment insurance and credit balance insurance. In casualty and accident insurance, the highest turnover areas are the natural forces sector and automobile collision, each with one quarter of the premium revenue.
UNIQA has been represented in the Slovakian insurance market since 1991 with UNIQA poistovna, formerly OTCINA. The company, also headquartered in Bratislava, employs 192 employees in administration and achieved a market share in 2003 of 3.5% with a premium volume of 30.9 million euro. The emphasis of the business activities has been the highly contested sector of automobile collision insurance. In recent years, the areas of natural forces insurance and life insurance have also been expanded more intensively. The company has a dense sales network of its own field service, brokers, agents and automobile dealers for direct customer service.
Together, the two companies have a market share in the Slovakian market of 4.7%.
Vienna, 23. May 2003