Chairman of the Board, Herbert Schimetschek: "The half-year result shows that we are on the right path with our strategy for the future. We are on the best route in developing UNIQA to into leading insurance Group in Central Europe. Our foreign subsidiaries will now be converted to the brand name UNIQA, and the entry into the Polish market, through the acquisition of POLONIA, is close to completion".   

Capital investments           
The total capital investments of the UNIQA Group increased by 7.8% to ATS 144.3 billion (EUR 10.5 billion) in the first six months. The investment income amounted to ATS 45 billion (EUR 329.3 million) in the half-year and exceeded the 1999 half-year result by 14.3%.  

Costs
The costs (excluding commissions) of the UNIQA Group continued to develop moderately compared to the same time period the previous year with a 3.7% increase to ATS 2.6 billion (EUR 189.3 million).
The commissions increased in conformance with the premiums to ATS 1.2 billion (EUR 90.0 million) or 14.1%.Total expenses increased thereby to ATS 3.8 billion (279.3 million) or by 6.8% compared to the first half-year 1999.      

Life assurance   
Life assurance remained the absolute growth motor with a premium increase of 29.4% to ATS 8.2 billion (EUR 598.4 million). In particular, the extraordinary strong development in the single premium business contributed to this growth. Benefits paid reduced by 8.5%.  

Health insurance    
In the health insurance, the positive growth continued. The premium volume increased by 2.3% to ATS 4.3 billion (EUR 314.4 million). The possibility for certain professional workers to choose a private mandatory health insurance since the beginning of the year contributed substantially to this pleasing development.

Opposing the premium growth are clearly more claims and an increase in paid benefits by 12,4% to ATS 3.6 billion (EUR 259.6 million).           

Property and casualty insurance    
Considering Assicurazioni "La Carnica" S.p.A., Udine, acquired in April 2000, the premiums written volume in direct business in the property and casualty insurance increased by 7.,3% to ATS 6.0 billion (EUR 436.0 million Euro ). The benefits paid increased as a result of the large claims relating to the weather and a dramatic growth in the number of claims in the motor vehicle insurance by 12.7% to ATS 32 billion (EUR 235.0 million).

In property insurance, the continuing predatory competition is noticeable accross all lines. Especially difficult is, as before, the structural requirements in the motor vehicle insurance. Thus, the premiums increased by 1.3% whilst the number of policies increased by 8.9% during the same time. Reconstruction measures in the motor vehicle insurance belong to the most important tasks in the next months.           

Outlook        
The Group is expecting further claims as a result of storms at the beginning of the third quarter with an additional increase in benefits paid and a deterioration of the actuarial results.

As a result of the strong single premium business and the effects of the ‘opting-out‘ of the health insurance by the professional workers in the first two quarters, a flattening of the premium growth is expected in spite of the continued positive development in new business.  

Extension of the listing to the total share capital          
The reorganisation measures agreed on in the previous year led to a uniform share class of the UNIQA Versicherungen AG. The share capital of the UNIQA Versicherungen AG consists of EUR 119,777,808 after a successful conversion to euro. In accordance with the stock exchange legal regulations, an application will be made to the Vienna stock exchange for the extension of the listing to the total share capital.