26.11.2010 |
- Premiums up by 10.2% to €4,655 million, with clear increases in all regions and segments
- Life insurance drives growth, with premiums up by 18.7%
- Slightly improved loss ratio, despite higher payouts due to natural disasters
- Investment income up by 19.2% / capital investments exceed €24 billion for the first time
- Profit increases by 142.7% to €103 million
- Expected profit for the year raised to €135 million
Double-digit premium growth in combination with a strong technical result and massively increased investment income have accelerated the UNIQA Group's profit for the first three quarters to €103 million. UNIQA has therefore succeeded in increasing the result compared to the same period for 2009 by 142.7% - despite higher pay-outs to customers due to natural disasters and sustained investments in service quality and sales development.
UNIQA General Director Dr. Konstantin Klien: "The core data show how the strong internationalisation enabled us to make above-average use of the opportunities offered by our regional diversification. At the same time, the degree of diversification and good risk distribution which we achieved through our presence in 21 countries provided a certain amount of balance and helped to avoid the UNIQA Group being too seriously affected by natural catastrphies. After only three quarters and with a profit of €103 million, we are already ahead of the total figures for 2008 and 2009 - which were marked by the financial crisis - and also ahead of our internal forecast. This development also allows us to raise the previous guidance of €120 million for the profit for the year. Barring any further extraordinary claim events for the rest of the year and a return to the extreme volatility on the financial markets, then a figure of €135 million is entirely within reach."
Clear premium growth in all segments and regions
With growth of 10.2%, the Group premiums written reached €4,665 million after the first three quarters of the current year. The sharp increase in the level of internationalisation of the UNIQA Group in recent years can be see in the regional distribution of the Group premiums. Thus, after the first nine months of 2010, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe account for €961 million (11.0%), the markets of Western Europe €815 million (+37.1%) and Austria €2,889 million (+4.2%).
The above-average growth of 18.7% to €1,925 million in the life insurance segment was particularly marked by the pleasing performance in Italy. By promptly intensifying sales cooperations with local banking partners, the UNIQA Group succeeded in participating in the extraordinarily high level of demand and thus more than doubled the life insurance premiums in Western Europe with a rise of 115.6% to €370 million.
In Austria as well, the UNIQA Group has grown by around one and a half times faster than the market (+4.1%), with premium growth of 6.4% to €1,213 million. Particularly responsible for the overall pleasing, strong growth were the unit-linked and index-linked products, for which premiums climbed by 24% to €558 million. Clear increases in the portfolios were recorded in retirement pension plans, fund-linked products and, in particular, guarantee contracts. The growth rates for recurrent premiums and single premiums remained at about the same level of 6.1% and 7.2% respectively.
The demand for life insurance in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe has also recovered strongly, even if at different rates from country to country. The companies of the UNIQA Group in this region increased life insurance premiums by 10.6% to €341 million. Around €6 million of that comes from the subsidiary founded in Russia only at the end of 2009.
As things developed, the share of life insurance in Group premiums has risen to its present level of 41.3% (1-9/2009: 38.3%).
In casualty and accident insurance, the UNIQA Group has succeeded in increasing the Group premiums by 5.4% to €2,006 million. Growth in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe continues to achieve a double-digit rate of currently 11.3% (to €607 million), despite the continued existence of occasionally difficult market conditions. The Group's Western European companies increased premiums in this segment by a considerable 3.6% to €320 million. The UNIQA Group is also performing clearly ahead of the market forecast for the year overall in its home market Austria, with premium growth of 2.8% to €1,079 million. Above-average increases were mainly recorded in industrial insurance and in the private client business.
While casualty and accident insurance continues to be the dominant segment in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (63.2% premium share), its share in the Group premiums has fallen back slightly to 43.0%.
Premiums earned from health insurance rose across the Group in the first nine months by 3.7% to €734 million. The lion's share of €597 million (+2.4%) continues to come from Austria, where UNIQA is the undisputed market leader in health insurance. International business generated €137 million (+9.3%) in health insurance premiums.
The share of health insurance in the Group premiums fell slightly to 15.7%.
Costs and loss ratio reduced slightly
The fact that the UNIQA Group has succeeded in reducing the loss and claim ratio from 77.2% to 76.6% is particularly pleasing in view of the burden caused by natural disasters, a number of large claims and the strong growth in single premiums in Italy.
The cost ratio was also slightly reduced from 22.7% to 22.5% by tightening the internal processes and despite the further increase in investments in sales capacities, support quality and brand awareness across all 21 markets.
Investments and net investment income increased
The investments of the UNIQA Group have also been increased by 10.5% in view of the good sales success and crossed the €24 billion threshold for the first time on 30 September 2010.
UNIQA made good use of the widespread calm on the capital markets and increased the income from investments by 19.2% to €672 million.
Profit more than doubled
As a consequence of the strong technical performance and massively increased investment income, the pre-tax group profit of the UNIQA Group after three quarters of €103 million was 142.7% above the value for the same period of the previous year and also clearly ahead of the annual results for 2008 and 2009.
Expected profit for the year raised to €135 million
In view of the good performance in the first nine months, UNIQA is now expecting a profit of around €135 million for financial year 2010 as a whole - assuming there are no negative surprises on the capital markets or any extraordinary claim events caused by natural disasters.
Reservations concerning statements about the future
This message contains statements that refer to future developments in the UNIQA Group Austria. These statements are appraisals that are made based on all information available to us at the current point in time. If the assumptions on which they are based do not occur, the actual events may vary from the results currently expected. For this reason, we cannot accept liability for these statements.
Vienna, 26. November 2010