On the basis of numerous initiatives in product development, customer loyalty and efficiency improvement, UNIQA expects very solid developments in the area of property and casualty insurance once again in 2011.
The growth of the legal expenses insurance line also proved favourable in 2010. The relaxation of the financial crisis was reflected by fewer mass loss claims being reported in the area of financial management in comparison to 2009. The exclusion of a majority of these risks proved to be an effective countermeasure. The stabilisation that occurred in this area had a correspondingly positive effect on the technical results of the legal expense insurance, and the goal for 2011 is to continue profitable growth. In addition to the existing scoring models, expansion will be pursued based on new and detailed portfolio analyses that allow growth to be profitably controlled and premiums to be appropriately structured for risk coverage. Attention will also be directed to the introduction of new terms and conditions for legal protection (ARB 2011) that contain innovative, risk-tailored expansions of coverage in addition to legally necessary adaptations. With the lawyer's portal initiated by the UNIQA Group and introduced in 2010, a new means of communication between attorneys and legal expense insurance providers was established in the insurance market. The aim for 2011 is to further increase the usage of the portal and thereby enhance productivity. The goal of gradually increasing the assignment of claims to specialised lawyers is to raise the success rate and hence customer satisfaction in 2011 as well.
The past year which experienced comparatively few storms and natural disasters witnessed an amelioration of the loss ratio in the storm risk segment. In view of the anticipated increase in bad weather in addition to pending new equity capital guidelines, further steps are necessary, however. Related countermeasures such as tariff segmentation by region have already been introduced, and the Group will continue to follow the course charted back in 2008. We will also continue to expand the HORA system (Austrian Flood Risk Zoning System) in coming years in cooperation with the Insurance Association of Austria and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management. The goal of this system is to create and refine a risk map that makes it possible to better assess possible natural dangers.
In the area of natural dangers as well as other risk areas, such as burglary, UNIQA relies on a variety of preventive measures to avoid losses. Examples of this can be found in the severe weather warnings offered by UNIQA as an exclusive service within the insurance industry as well as security checks for corporate customers and the pilot project “NummerSicher” for household and homeowner customers and bicycle theft. The severe weather warnings offered by UNIQA since 2004 in Austria have already been successfully implemented in Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia and should be introduced in additional countries in 2011.
The strategy of reducing complexity and increasing efficiency, especially by offering standardised, customer-oriented products, should yield further profits. After launching the new private customer product in 2009, a new corporate customer project will be introduced in autumn 2011. Like the private customer product, a range of customer needs will be addressed by the different package versions. This will yield a clear, up-to-date product line which enables quick and efficient processing. Increased productivity in sales, efficiency gains and process streamlining then result.
Further refinements in the private customer business will be seen in 2011 as well. For instance, additional security features are being integrated into the new private customer product introduced to the market in 2009. The goal of these new models is an individual and risk-appropriate premium definition, in which the Group will naturally continue to pursue the goal of climate protection in accordance with the course already set jointly by Raiffeisen Versicherung and UNIQA. The features already included in the current product will be carried over and further expanded.
The market environment for motor vehicle insurance in Austria will remain difficult in 2011. The competition is traditionally sharp, and customers are confronted with offers at numerous contact points such as exclusive intermediaries, brokers, banks, automobile dealers or leasing companies.
UNIQA is reacting by continuing to focus on outstanding, unique products such as driver protection and especially SafeLine, the first automotive insurance that can save lives. The significant success of SafeLine in 2010 leads the company to expect an even more dynamic growth in the future. With its safety features, SafeLine helps establish unique customer loyalty in the motor vehicle insurance market. Over 400 emergencies have been positively resolved, and the CarFinder function has enabled lost vehicles to be immediately found in more than 40 cases. Linking GPS technology and crash sensors to automotive insurance is a Europe-wide trend of the future, and UNIQA as one of the forerunners serves as an example for other countries.
UNIQA is also unique in the Austrian market with its driver protection product. Even if the driver is at fault, this singular type of coverage provides an insured sum of up to €1 million for lost salary, treatment costs, living expenses and more. An increase of up to 20,000 policies is anticipated for this product.
Favouring electric vehicles is the logical continuation of UNIQA’s commitment to climate protection. Since 2010, UNIQA has offered insurance for electric vehicles that do not require registration such as electric bicycles, mountain bikes, Segways and bikeboards. In 2011, the VCÖ anticipates a further increase in sales of these vehicles from 30,000 to 40,000.
Simultaneously, smartphones continue to enjoy great popularity. Linking the two is a logical step. Customers of UNIQA will therefore be able to obtain liability insurance and comprehensive insurance for these electric vehicles easily and without red tape by using their smartphone starting in 2011. This sends another strong signal about customer contact and simplifies the dialogue between customers and UNIQA similar to the introduction of the first vehicle damage claim reporting by smartphone in the Austrian market in the first half of 2010.
Furthermore, UNIQA rewards customers by offering premium advantages to those who combine the use of public transportation with the use of their individual automobile. UNIQA SafeLine is also a leader among motor vehicle insurance policies in the area of climate protection with its flexible environmental bonus for people who do little driving.
All of these new developments have also been tailored to affiliates in the Group. For example, driver protection has already been introduced in Raiffeisen Versicherung and SafeLine is being used in Hungary. The smartphone application for reporting damage claims has already been launched in several countries.
In the area of business interruption insurance for freelancers, the premium package introduced in 2010 will be furthered by sales-promoting activities. The highlight of this package is a termination protection which is presently only offered by a few insurance companies. For a higher premium, UNIQA will abandon the right to termination after a claim for the entire term of the policy. This addresses the security needs of the customers even better than before. Premium reimbursement in the absence of claims is automatically included.
In the second half of 2011, a shared application is planned for freelancer business interruption insurance and occupational disability insurance. If freelancer business interruption insurance no longer applies, for example if a business closes due to illness, occupational disability insurance will commence. These two products provide freelancers and small business owners with adequate risk coverage. Furthermore, UNIQA grants a premium advantage of 5% for freelancer business interruption insurance.
The new accident tariff structure introduced in the second half of 2010 at UNIQA will also be employed to achieve the targeted goals in 2011. Starting from the second quarter of 2011, an entry-level accident insurance product will be offered – hospital reimbursements for individuals with a flat fee for broken bones – a simple alternative to the primary product, "Unfall & Umsorgt".
Since many customers are involved in internationalisation and are tapping new markets, UNIQA will continue to enhance support of these customers. In addition to the related network of foreign companies, UNIQA also has the expertise and resources to offer international programmes to customers and satisfy the sophisticated demands of this strongly growing market segment.
As a response to the Environmental Liability Act passed to fulfil an EU directive, UNIQA has integrated environmental cleanup costs insurance in its liability insurance products. Since this is a Europe-wide issue, international experience and expertise will be exchanged with the international companies of the Group in 2011.
In years past, UNIQA was closely and successfully involved in an effort to prevent the spread of Legionella in the hotel and healthcare industries. In 2011, a cooperative effort with leading companies of this sector is planned to create systems for sanitising and preventing the spread of germs in water supply systems. In addition to the guaranteed freedom from Legionella, the advantage to UNIQA customers is the particularly attractive price for purchasing and installing the system.
Furthermore, an insurance solution and related safety strategy are presently being developed with a company that specialises in the risk management of major events. The result will be a risk management approach tailored to customers which will also include insurance coverage for the remaining risk associated with large events.
In industrial property insurance, UNIQA continues to find itself in a very competitive market, while the area of general liability insurance for larger risks is already showing the first signs of tightening terms.
In recent years, UNIQA has made a name for itself in the continental European insurance market through innovative products tailored to the requirements of a wide range of art collections and cultural institutions. This has yielded increasing demand especially in the central London market. UNIQA has risen to the challenge and will be opening an office in February 2011 in London which will be run by an international art expert who will develop relationships with international brokers and customers.
The responsibility of the new office will be to develop special insurance concepts for corporate and private collections for museums and international exhibitions, as well as galleries, dealers and auction houses. This outreach will be based on a foundation of years of international experience and the UNIQA team’s extraordinary high level of expertise in the art world, as well as a special focus on flexible and innovative solutions.
At the same time, this new location not only places UNIQA closer to many customers, it will also enable UNIQA to continue the strategy it used to successfully expand its market position in central Europe on an international level.
