- IFRS Group premiums up 10.4% to €5,825 million
- Greatest growth evident in Eastern Europe with a rise in premiums of 56.7%
- Clear improvement in technical core business due to positive trends in cost and loss ratios
- Combined ratio (gross) improved 4.5% points to 94.2%
- Upheaval on the financial markets has a negative effect on financial profits, pushing the results down to €90 million
- Dividends planned: 40 cents
- Premiums up in the first months of 2009

The UNIQA Group continued to grow noticeably in the 2008 financial year. The premium volume written of €5,825 million corresponds to an impressive 10.4% increase. Most obvious, as in the year before, were the growth impulses from Eastern and South Eastern Europe, where the UNIQA Group was able to increase premiums by 56.7%. Combined with a further improvement in the loss and cost tangent, UNIQA has successfully managed to continue to noticeably strengthen the foundation in its technical core business. On the other hand, UNIQA has not been spared the effects of the growing world financial crisis and the massive upheaval on the capital markets and must accept a drop in profits down to €90 million as a result of the reduced return on capital.

UNIQA’s Chairman of the Management Board, Konstantin Klien: “The exponential growth in premium volume that we have seen again this year is visible proof of the continuing success of our growth strategy. The improvement in our technical results, strengthening of our market position in of Central and Eastern Europe and the further internationalisation of our business activities through the development of new markets were all masked by the negative consequences of the financial market trends on our investments. Their massive deterioration is also the primary reason that our Group profit has been reduced. Add to this the fact that we did not sell any companies in the past year from our investment or insurance area, to the contrary - we acquired a few.” 

Clear acceleration in premium growth of 10.4%
In 2008, the UNIQA Group was able to achieve a growth of 10.4% to €5,825 million (2007: €5,276 million) in the consolidated premium volume written (including the savings portion from the unit-linked and index-linked life insurance) – making growth dynamics almost three times higher than in 2007 (+3.6%).
The strong growth impulses came here from an above-average rise of 56.7% to €1,279 million (2007: €816 million) in the markets of Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania). This trend is also particularly worth noting because it is based almost totally on organic growth. Only the 4th quarter for UNITA, acquired in 2008 in Romania, is recorded in the figures and the companies in Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo and Romania in which UNIQA only has minority shares have not been included at all yet. This means that UNIQA’s growth from within in all the countries of the region was clearly faster than that of the markets as a whole.

Klien: “Seen over the course of two years, we grew about three times faster than the respective insurance markets were able in grow in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Croatia and Serbia - and at least twice as fast in Slovakia, Bosnia and Bulgaria.  This reflects our strategy of giving organic growth preference over acquisitions in the countries where we have gained a foothold - particularly during a time when acquisitions were not exactly inexpensive. This policy is one of the reasons that we have been able to increase the premium volume of the UNIQA Group outside of Austria since 2002 by sevenfold and increase the level of internationalisation in total from 11.4% to 38.2%. The share of Eastern and South Eastern European markets in Group premiums rose during the same time period from 6.7% to 22.0%. The dynamic development in Eastern and South Eastern Europe during the last few years also meant that, for the first time in 2008, the premium volume from this region was higher than from our Western European neighbours. Furthermore, with our well-balanced presence in 20 European markets, we now have an obviously improved regional diversification. This provides us with more protection against economic upheavals limited to certain regions than if we had concentrated our efforts and investment capital on building up large market shares in only a few markets.”

In the Western European countries (Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein) the UNIQA companies were able to increase premiums by 0.5% to €947 million (2007: €942 million), despite the deterioration in single premium business in Italy. With its successful niche policy, the German Mannheimer Group managed to distinctly outdo the general market trend in Germany (+1.5%) and increased - on a consolidated basis - premiums by 3.1%.
Most of the premiums in the UNIQA Group continue to be generated in Austria, the Group’s main market. Premiums could be increased here in 2008 by 2.3% to €3,599 million (2007: €3,517 million) – this puts the increase within the span of market growth.

UNIQA Group’s gross insurance benefits sank in 2008, despite the storm claims and the rise in business volume, by 4.8% to €3,704 million (2007: €3,892 million). Thus, a trend that has been going on for years could be continued and the loss ratio once again reduced – in 2008 it was 64.0%, following 74.3% in the previous year. Reducing the loss ratio in 2008 affected all segments and, with the exception of Eastern and South Eastern Europe, all regions.

Klien: “The fact that we have managed to reduce the loss ratio by almost a third since 2002 despite the strong growth in premiums, and have even been able to improve it again in 2008 compared to 2007, shows that we have made clear progress in our technical core business and have laid the foundation for economic success in the future.”

Upheaval on the financial markets reduces financial results
The UNIQA Group’s aggregate investments sank slightly in 2008 by 0.9% to €21,342 million (2007: €21,544 million).
Net investment income was down as a result of the global financial crisis to €189 million (2007: €955 million). However, the investment results of the year 2007 were positively influenced by the extraordinary amount of €177 million from the two capital increases of STRABAG SE.

Group profit is €90 million / 40 cent dividend proposed
In the 2008 financial year, the profit on ordinary activities of the UNIQA Group fell by 73.5%, primarily due to the heavily declining revenues from investments, ending at €90 million (2007: €340 million). Adjusted to account for the special effects from the stake in STRABAG SE in the year 2007, pre-tax results declined by about 45%. The Management Board will propose a dividend of 40 cents per share (2007: 50 cents) to the Supervisory Board and the Annual General Meeting.

Klien: “All told, we will pay our shareholders – assuming the dividend proposal is approved by the Annual General Meeting – €52.3 million in dividends for 2008. Although this is 12% less than last year, it is nevertheless three times more than it was in 2002.”

Segments
The premium volume written in life insurance, including the savings portion of unit-linked and index-linked life insurance, could be increased in 2008 by 14.1% to €2,476 million (2007: €2,170 million).
In Austria, despite the fact that expirations remain high, the UNIQA Group achieved an impressive increase in premiums of 2.1% to €1,557 million (2007: €1,525 million).
Of course, the life insurance business in the Central and Eastern European countries developed much more dynamically. In this region, premiums could be increased by 99.9% to €569 million (2007: €285 million). This brought the region’s share in Group life insurance up from 13.1% to 23.0%.
In Western Europe, the premium volume sank by around 2.7% to €351 million (2007: €360 million). The share of total international business in life insurance premiums was already at 37.1% in 2008 (2007: 29.7%).

In the property and casualty insurance segment, group premiums were up by an impressive 9.3% to €2,401 million (2007: €2,198 million).
Despite the ever-tougher competition in motor vehicle insurance, in Austria it was possible to post a noticeable plus of 2.1% with premiums of €1,294 million (2007: €1,268 million).
In Central and Eastern Europe the rapid pace continued; premiums grew by 33.1% to €702 million (2007: €528 million). With these results the region has further increased its importance within the UNIQA Group and now already holds a 29.2% share of Group premiums in this segment (2007: 24.0%).
In the Western European countries the companies of the UNIQA Group successfully increased their premiums by 0.8% to €405 million (2007: €402 million), despite stagnating market tendencies.
The total international share in Group premiums rose in this line from 42.3% to 46.1%.
The gross combined ratio sank to 94.2% (2007: 98.7%) as a result of the lowered cost and loss ratios on the group level. Adjusted for the benefits paid out due to the storms Paula and Emma, this figure is only at 92.1%.

In comparison to the previous year, premiums written in health insurance increased in 2008 by 4.4% to €948 million (2007: €908 million).In Austria, where UNIQA is the clear market leader, a premium volume of €748 million (+3.3%) was recorded (2007: €724 million). In the Western European region an increase of 6.4% to €191 million (2007: 180 million) was achieved. In the countries of Central and Eastern Europe private health insurance still played a subordinated role, even though premium volume was basically doubled to €8 million (2007: €4 million). Overall, the international share in the total health insurance premiums in 2008 was 21.1% (2007: 20.3%).

Current business year
Despite the further deterioration of the economic situation and the continuously sinking forecasts of the general economic trends, the UNIQA Group was able to continue to grow in the first two months of the current year. The premium growth in property and casualty insurance was 4.5%, in health insurance 3.7% and in life insurance 0.8%. In total, growth in the first months came to about 3.2%. While premiums in Austria increased by 1.5%, growth in the international markets was significantly stronger at 6.5%.

Outlook
Because of the continuing volatility in the capital and currency markets as well as the uncertainties about the extent and duration of the general economic downturn, it is not presently possible to make a reliable forecast for the current financial year or beyond.

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.