The international rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) confirmed today, February 22, 2007, the unchanged financial strength of the UNIQA Group with an “A“ rating and a stable outlook.

The evaluation of the Group is based on UNIQA's core companies UNIQA Sachversicherung AG (“A“), UNIQA Personenversicherung AG (“A“) and UNIQA Re AG (“A“) as well as the holding company UNIQA Versicherung AG (“A-“), whose future prospects S&P also sees as stable.

The operative performance with a sustainable net ROE of 15% and the positive income situation in all the Central and Eastern European markets were emphasised as important rating factors.

S&P underlines the UNIQA Group's leading market position in the area of personal injury insurance and its sales power in Austria.

The agency also acknowledges the successful implementation of the Profit Improvement Programme between 2001 and 2006 and the realistic goal of a further improvement in profit of EUR 200 million by 2010.

S&P bases its estimate of a stable outlook on the continuing strong operative results. The presence in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, which has been strengthened by the most recent acquisitions, indicate that there will be an increasing diversification of income because the highest growth opportunities are seen in this region. S&P also sees a healthy spread of risk in the niche strategy for Western Central Europe that UNIQA is successfully implementing in Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.