Fortunately, the expectation expressed in these pages last year that the economic environment would become more difficult with increasing unemployment did not materialise over the past year. However, the optimistic forecast of continued demand for health insurance as well as a stable customer base did: New business rose slightly in 2010, whereas the contract cancellation dropped to an absolute low. It is apparent that customers are aware more than ever of the advantages of private health insurance in times of public discussion of the financeability of the health-care system.
A lively public discussion about "two-tier healthcare" has been instigated by an advertising campaign launched by an insurance company which is new to the market. UNIQA's position is clear: Private health insurance builds on a foundation of statutory health insurance and supplements it. A functioning first pillar is therefore a prerequisite. The second pillar offers the customer an additional freedom of choice, self-determination and comfort which, however, must never be to the disadvantage of the remaining population. In fact, the opposite is true: Every privately insured party supports the overall system with his or her own payments, be it the financing of physicians in public hospitals or as a patient in a private hospital by bearing the majority of the associated costs.
Keeping the customer's payments – i.e. the premiums – within a manageable range was a core task of private health insurers under the leadership of UNIQA in 2010 and will remain so in 2011. These negotiations with hospitals and physicians have proved to be particularly intense and tenacious this time. Of course, the successful negotiations of years past make it increasingly difficult to rescind contracts that are unattractive from the vantage point of the contractual partners. Accordingly, some of the demands submitted this year lay substantially above the rate of inflation. Nevertheless in many areas, realistic agreements were reached, and some are still being negotiated. Nonetheless, cautious optimism is appropriate that acceptable agreements will be made in these instances as well, and that customers throughout Austria will continue to be offered direct and guaranteed settlement of all treatment costs.
In sum, UNIQA also anticipates that the trend in health insurance in 2011 will be solid and stable. The entrance into the market of a new competitor (Donau Versicherung) will need to be factored in, and increased marketing and sales activities of familiar market players have also been noted. It can therefore be assumed that competition will become harder. But UNIQA will continue to successfully assert its market leadership and set the standard for the market with innovative products and services: For example, the introduction of the Select PLUS product line planned for the spring of 2011 will continue to promote the concept of prevention with attractive incentives. The process of signing up for policies will be professionalised through the teleunderwriting project with UNIQA's medical call centre as well as simplified and accelerated. The scheduled launch of Mobile Health Care, a futuristic looking truck designed by Luigi Colani, at the end of last year will substantially expand the corporate healthcare management services offered to corporate customers. At the same time, UNIQA will expand awareness of health insurance in a special advertising campaign in the spring of 2011.
The outlook for foreign markets is also positive. In Germany, the political environment for private health insurance continues to develop positively, as expected. A solid foundation for continued respectable development also exists for Mannheimer Krankenversicherung. The Geneva-based Group company, a specialist in health insurance for international organisations, will be able to continue its favourable growth this year as well. Apart from the highly possible conclusion of new large policies, the number of insured under existing policies can be significantly expanded.
In neighbouring eastern countries, health insurance will continue to grow strongly, of course starting from a relatively low level, although some of the effects of the economic and financial crisis can still be felt. The new Mobile Health Care truck will be put to use in these countries as well to provide attention-getting support of UNIQA's growth strategy. In Slovenia, health insurance will be marketed for the first time independently – from Carinthia – by the partner Raiffeisen.
