The UNIQA Group will acquire about a further 23% of the share capital in Albanian insurance company Sigal from other shareholders and thereby increase its share in the Albanian market leader and its subsidiaries in Kosovo and Macedonia to around 68,7%. The relevant agreements with the former shareholders were signed on Wednesday, 11 November 2009 in Tirana. The 13% holding of Albanian American Enterprise Fund (AAEF) in Sigal will remain unchanged. The transaction is still subject to the approval of the responsible authorities. The deal is expected to be closed within the next three to four months.

UNIQA CEO Konstantin Klien comments: “We made it clear right at the beginning of our cooperation with Sigal in 2007 that we wanted to acquire a majority stake in the company by 2010 and secured appropriate options for ourselves. The current step is therefore entirely according to plan and expresses confidence in the economically positive future of the markets of South-Eastern Europe. With the commencement of business operations in Russia a few weeks ago, UNIQA has also clearly underscored its commitment to the growth regions in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Despite all the variously manifested disruptions and setbacks of the individual economies, the story of convergence continues and I expect demand to rise strongly in the near future – especially for sustainably working insurance companies with modern product offerings.”

Now that the agreement with the shareholders of the Sigal Group has been concluded, UNIQA also has finalised options to purchase the remaining shares over the next few years. Sigal has already been operating on the markets of Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo as a member of the UNIQA Group for some time. Klien: “Sigal has used the exchange of experience with the companies of the UNIQA Group outstandingly well within the scope of the existing cooperation and further developed its undisputed position as the number one insurer in Albania by increasing its market share from 28% to over 32%. The ongoing low density of insurers in the three markets, combined with the medium-term positive economic outlooks also gives reason to expect continued disproportionately high growth rates in the insurance industry.”

Sigal Group
Sigal was founded in 1999 as the first private insurance company in Albania and apart from Albania also has operational subsidiaries in Kosovo and Macedonia. In 2008, the Group generated a total premium volume in the three markets of EUR 27.7 million. The companies of the Sigal Group have a comprehensive network of customer offices, in addition to the head offices in Tirana, Pristina and Skopje. The 260 salaried employees are supported in sales activities by over 400 insurance brokers and numerous employees at cooperating banks.

In the first nine months of this year, the companies of the Sigal Group succeeded in increasing premiums by 29% to EUR 25.3 million. Sigal generated EUR 15.5 million of that amount in Albania, EUR 5,3 million in Kosovo and EUR 4.5 million in Macedonia. Premiums from the life insurance line - which is currently only offered in Albania - almost doubled from January to September, to EUR 2.2 million. Most of the premium volume - in line with the market structure - continues to be made up of property and motor vehicle insurance, worth EUR 23.1 million. Sigal increased premiums in these lines by around 25% to EUR 23.1 million in the first nine months of the current year.

With a 30.6% market share in the non-life line, over 50% in life insurance and 32.6% in total, Sigal is not only the clear market leader amongst Albania’s insurers, but has also significantly extended its lead over the competition.

The insurance markets of Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo
Albania, with its population of around 3.2 million, currently has nine companies active in the non-life insurance lines and three in life insurance. Together they generated a premium volume of EUR 57.8 million in 2008 (+19.5%).
They also clearly increased their premium volume in the first nine months of this year - by 14,4% to EUR 47.4 million. Despite an above-average growth rate of almost 40%, life insurance is still significantly under-represented, with a share of less than 10% in the total premium volume.
Insurance density (premium per capita) and insurance penetration (share of premiums in GDP) - the two main measures of how developed an insurance market is - are naturally lower in Albania, at around EUR 18 or 0.73%, than the average for the EU27 (EUR 2.081 or 8.5%).

Ten insurance companies now operate on the insurance market in Kosovo, which has been independent since 2000. Private life insurance has only been available since 2008. The total premium volume for this market of 2.2 million people was EUR 56.3 million (+10.8) in 2008 - around 63% of which was accounted for by motor vehicle liability insurance. The insurance density is EUR 26.15, while insurance penetration stands at 1.5%. Sigal is the third-largest insurer in Kosovo, with a market share of around 13%.

The twelve active insurers in Macedonia (pop. 2.1 million) achieved a total premium volume of EUR 105 million (+5.0%) in 2008. Here as well, the motor vehicle line dominated the market, accounting for around 50% of premiums. Life insurance made up around 4.2%. The insurance density is EUR 51.2. Sigal has a market share of 5.2%, making it the seventh-largest insurer in Macedonia.