The supervisory board of UNIQA Versicherungen AG has approved the acquisition by a group company of UNIQA Versicherungen AG of a majority interest in CARNICA Assicurazioni S.p.A., Udine.

Negotiations UNIQA conducted with Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., the majority shareholder of CARNICA Assicurazioni S.p.A., Udine that was founded in 1920, for a takeover of a qualified majority could be successfully finalized.

Total premiums collected by CARNICA Assicurazioni S.p.A. - a local property insurer - in 1999 amounted to approx. LIT 60 billion (ATS 426.4 mio). The most important lines of its portfolio are motor vehicle, accident, and fire insurance. The Company has 47 employees at its principle place of business at Udine. Distribution is carried out exclusively through an agency network linked with CARNICA.

The strategic option pursued was to acquire a conservative, traditional property insurance portfolio with excellent reputation. The acquisition allows the UNIQA Group Austria to gain a firm foothold in the areas bordering Austria, a region with already numerous cross-border business relations. Together with the Milan-based existing UNIQA subsidiary, Austria Assicurazioni S.p.A., a variety of synergies in the fields of administration and organization will develop.

Further step towards internationalization of the UNIQA Group Austria
Before the acquisition, UNIQA had already been represented in Italy with its Milan-based Austria Assicurazioni S.p.A. This company concentrates on medical insurance. With premiums collected totaling LIT 47 billion (ATS 334 mio) in the preceding business year, this company is among Italy's 15 leading medical insurers. Aside from medical insurance, Austria Assicurazioni launched its accidence insurance business at the beginning of 1999.

Synergies and cooperations with existing activities of the UNIQA Group Austria on the Italian market.
The UNIQA Group Austria will operate its life insurance business through a Milan-based branch of UNIQA Personenversicherung AG that is expected to commence its operations by mid-year. The UNIQA Group Austria thereby establishes itself in Italy as comprehensive all-lines insurer with significant synergy potential within the newly created structures.

The UNIQA Group Austria more than doubled its premium volume in Italy through the acquisition of CARNICA and has thereby made one major step towards achieving its objective to internationalize its core business. The Company intends medium- term to increase the share its international business represents with respect to the consolidated premium volume to approx. 15%.

UNIQA Group Austria
With premiums collected totaling ATS 30.2 billion (EUR 2.19 billion) and approx. 6,500 employees, UNIQA is one of Central Europe's leading insurance groups. UNIQA emerged in 1999 from the traditional Austrian insurers Bundesländer-Versicherung und Austria-Collegialität and deliberately combines Austrian identity and European caliber. Our corporate structure represents new standards for the entire insurance business.

In assisting its customers to secure their respective plans for the future, the UNIQA Group Austria shows competence and flexibility. We know: since every person is different, our top quality solutions have to be different as well. We aim at achieving this ideal in all products and services of our company in ten European countries (Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Liechtenstein.).