The 2009 fiscal year was once again a very successful one for the Czech company UNIQA pojišt'ovna with a preliminary premium growth of 7.2%, reaching CZK 4.693 billion (roughly € 177 million). In a market comparison, this puts UNIQA clearly above the published average in the Czech Republic: the total premium volume in the Czech Republic grew in 2009 by roughly 2.3%.

Martin Žácek, CEO of UNIQA pojišt'ovna, on the dynamic developments: “UNIQA has once again far outpaced the market average, demonstrating purely organic growth in the Czech Republic without any acquisitions. We see this as a confirmation of our strategy of providing high-quality products and high-quality service.  We have again set very ambitious goals for the coming year and intend to continue outgrowing the market.”

According to preliminary data, the highest growth rates were recorded by UNIQA Czech Republic in 2009 in the non-life sectors with an increase of 9.3% to CZK 3.497 billion (€132 million). The clear growth drivers were travel insurance (+25%), technical insurance products (+20%), legal expenses insurance (+19%) and private health insurance (+15%). In automobile insurance, the company was able to increase the premium volume by 12% to CZK 1.982 billion (approximately €74.7 million).

Premiums in life insurance increased by 1.4% to about CZK 1.2 billion (approximately €45 million), according to preliminary figures. Significant growth of 11.2% was seen here in single-premium policies.

The total number of existing policy holdings at UNIQA Czech Republic rose by 10% in 2009 to 538,000 policies. The customers of UNIQA pojišt'ovna are served by 1,150 employees at the headquarters in Prague and 140 locations throughout the country.

The severe weather warning service via SMS that is popular in Austria was also introduced in the Czech Republic in mid-2009. Today, roughly 14,000 customers in the Czech Republic are taking advantage of the service. Roughly 95,000 text messages have been sent in the past eight months.