Considerable investments to be made this year
The Supervisory Board of UNIQA Versicherungen AG has granted its approval to acquire more than 90 % of the equity capital of Polish insurers Polonia S.A. (“Polonia”) and “Polonia Zycie S.A.” (“Polonia Life”) . Due to the complexity of their legal structure, the decision to conclude a purchasing contract with the two companies will require further negotiations with Polonia’s shareholders. If an agreement can be reached in these negotiations and UNIQA Versicherungen AG can acquire its planned stakes in the two companies, heavy investments will have to be made to strengthen the capital resources. These financial measures will allow UNIQA to reinforce the market position of “Polonia” and “Polonia Leben” and will open new strategic options, particularly in the growing life insurance sector.

First talks on a participation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the restructuring of both Polish companies under the guidance of UNIQA were very promising. The EBRD already holds a stake in two of UNIQA’s subsidiaries, in CRP (Czech Republic) and Austrija Osiguranje (Croatia).

Polonia    
“Polonia” was founded in 1990 as a private company. The total premium volume of the company amounts to PLN 278 million (ATS 973 million/EUR 70.71 million), its market share amounts to 2.5%. Polonia’s core business is motor insurance, the dominant sector in the Polish insurance market.

“Polonia Leben” (Polonia Life) was founded in 1994 as a subsidiary company. A large majority of its share capital is held by Polonia.  The premium volume (PLN 4 million/ATS 14 million/EURO 1.02 million) of this young company is still relatively low.

In the light of the growing importance of private pensions  (introduction of the compulsory staff pension schemes in May 1999) the coming years will certainly show significant growth rates. 

The joint central office of “Polonia” and “Polonia Life” is situated in Lodz, a city 120 km from Warsaw and with a population of 1 million inhabitants. Approx. 200 qualified employees work at the headquarters of both companies. The sales of the insurance products is organized through 58 branch offices and 570 agencies with 2,700 free-lancing salesmen. “Polonia” and “Polonia Life” are the only two Polish insurance companies with this type of sales organization. By means of its 90% stake in Polonia, UNIQA Group Austria wants to internationalize its core business. This important and promising investment in Poland would be the largest UNIQA has ever made on a foreign market. A few weeks ago, UNIQA reached an agreement with the Generali Group for the takeover of CARNICA Insurance, which will reinforce its presence in Italy.

UNIQA Group Austria looks back on years of experience on the Eastern and Central European markets and is present in ten other European countries (Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Liechtenstein).