31.01.2006 |
Standard & Poor's confirmed the ratings of UNIQA Group core companies as "A" and rates UNIQA Re (Switzerland) for the first time
The international rating agency Standard & Poor's has confirmed the ratings of the UNIQA core companies UNIQA Sachversicherung ("A"), UNIQA Personenversicherung ("A") and UNIQA Versicherungen AG ("A-") - which means their assessment of the UNIQA Group's financial strength has remained unchanged at an "A" level. As before, S & P rates the outlook for both the individual companies and the Group to be "STABLE".
For the first time, Standard & Poor's has also subjected UNIQA Re AG, which has its headquarters in Zurich, to an interactive rating process and assigned it an "A" (strong) for its insurer financial strength and counterparty credit rating. The outlook for the reinsurer - one of the core companies in the UNIQA Group - has also been rated by S&P to be "STABLE".
UNIQA Re is (indirectly) a 100% subsidiary of the Group holding company, which is listed on the stock exchange under the name UNIQA Versicherungen AG, and was founded in 2003. UNIQA Re underwrites exclusively reinsurance business from the UNIQA Group's non-Austrian insurance holdings and is run as a Profit Center.
As material rating factors the rating agency lists the core status of the UNIQA Group, the extensive reinsurance programme, the appropriate liquidity and the strong capitalisation.
S&P bases its rating of the outlook as "STABLE" on the fact that the outlook for the entire UNIQA Group is also stable. The rating agency expects that the UNIQA Group will continue with its strong operative performance and calculates an ROE of at least 15% for 2006. In addition, because of the stronger presence in Eastern Europe, a more intense diversification of business with a declining share of the home market is to be expected. In S&P's view, the UNIQA Group will continue to have a strong capitalisation at their disposal.
Vienna, 31. January 2006