The UNIQA Group provides life and health insurance and is active in almost all areas of property and casualty insurance. It serves around 8.1 million customers, has over 17 million insurance policies with a premium volume written (including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance) of around € 6.0 billion (2010: € 6.2 billion) and investments of € 24.6 billion (2010: € 24.8 billion). The UNIQA Group is the second-largest insurer in Austria and has a strong network in Central and Eastern Europe and a presence in 16 countries.
Premium development
In 2011, the total premium volume of the UNIQA Group, including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance in the amount of € 633.9 million (2010: € 845.1 million), declined to € 5,982.8 million (2010: € 6,224.2 million). This was attributable to the 3.9 per cent deterioration in the area of single premiums. On the other hand, the total consolidated premium volume written only fell marginally by 0.6 per cent to € 5,348.8 million (2010: € 5,379.1 million).
Developments were very positive in the area of insurance policies with recurring premiums in particular, which grew by 4.7 per cent to € 5,381.1 million (2010: 5,140.5 million). However, the single premium business declined by 44.5 per cent to € 601.7 million (2010: € 1,083.7 million) in 2011 due to the extension of the minimum holding period to benefit from tax advantages in Austria from ten to 15 years and lower volumes in Italy and Poland in particular.
Group premiums earned, including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance (after reinsurance) in the amount of € 599.7 million (2010: € 823.1 million), rose by 4.3 per cent to € 5,705.2 million (2010: € 5,961.7 million). Retained premiums earned (in accordance with IFRS) declined by 0.6 per cent to € 5,105.5 million (2010: € 5,138.6 million).
In the 2011 financial year, 45.4 per cent (2010: 41.6 per cent) of the premium volume was attributable to property and casualty insurance, 16.8 per cent (2010: 15.6 per cent) to health insurance and 37.8 per cent (2010: 42.8 per cent) to life insurance.
In Austria, the premium volume written including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance fell by 3.7 per cent to € 3,685.8 million in 2011 (2010: € 3,828.8 million). However, recurring premiums increased by an extremely encouraging 2.9 per cent to € 3,545.8 million (2010: € 3,447.5 million). Meanwhile, single premiums declined by 63.3 per cent to € 140.0 million (2010: € 381.3 million) due to the aforementioned extension of the minimum holding period to benefit from tax advantages.
Including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance, premiums earned in Austria amounted to € 3,595.5 million (2010: € 3,748.8 million). Retained premiums earned (in accordance with IFRS) rose by 1.1 per cent to € 3,132.9 million in 2011 (2010: € 3,100.1 million).
The development of premiums in Central and Eastern Europe was extremely positive in 2011, particularly in the area of property and casualty insurance. Growth was dampened by the downward trend in the single premium business in life insurance. In 2011, the premium volume written including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance fell by 4.2 per cent to € 1,240.1 million (2010: € 1,294.0 million). Recurring premiums increased by a strong 7.7 per cent to € 1,095.3 million (2010: € 1,017.0 million); however, the single premium business fell by 47.7 per cent of € 144.8 million (2010: € 277.0 million). Central and Eastern Europe’s share of Group premiums remained stable in 2011 at 20.7 per cent (2010: 20.8 per cent).
Including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance, premiums earned in CEE decreased by 4.3 per cent to € 1,160.9 million (2010: € 1,212.4 million). Retained premiums earned (in accordance with IFRS) amounted to € 1,047.4 million (2010: € 1,118.3 million).
In Western Europe, the premium volume written including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance fell by 4.0 per cent to € 1,056.9 million in the 2011 financial year (2010: € 1,101.5 million), primarily due to the sharp deterioration in the life insurance business in Italy and Liechtenstein. Recurring premium business, however, developed extremely positively in this region, increasing by a strong 9.5 per cent to € 740.0 million (2010: € 676.0 million). Driven by the downturn in the Italian business, single premiums decreased by 25.5 per cent to € 316.9 million (2010: € 425.4 million). All in all, the Western European share of Group premiums remained unchanged at 17.7 per cent (2010: 17.7 per cent).
Including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance, premiums earned in Western Europe decreased by 5.2 per cent to € 948.8 million (2010: € 1,000.5 million). By contrast, retained premiums earned (in accordance with IFRS) rose by 0.5 per cent to € 925.2 million (2010: 920.2 million).
Development of insurance benefits
The volume of insurance benefits before reinsurance (see Note 36 in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements) decreased by 10.2 per cent to € 4,098.3 million during the 2011 financial year (2010: € 4,566.1 million) due to the improved development of claims, because there were no major natural disasters in the area of property and casualty insurance and because of the deterioration in payments for insured events and the lower level of expenses for (deferred) profit participation in the area of life insurance. Consolidated retained insurance benefits also fell by an encouraging 10.5 per cent to € 3,992.1 million in the past financial year (2010: € 4,458.3 million).
Meanwhile, retained insurance benefits in Austria declined by 9.6 per cent to € 2,484.0 million (2010: € 2,749.0 million) in 2011, while they fell by as much as 21.0 per cent to € 684.6 million in Central and Eastern Europe (2010: € 866.2 million). In the Western European markets, insurance benefits (after reinsurance) also decreased to € 823.5 million during the year under review (2010: € 843.1 million).
Operating expenses
Total consolidated operating expenses (see Note 37 in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements) less reinsurance commission and profit shares from reinsurance business ceded (see Note 33 in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements) increased by 14.9 per cent to € 1,548.3 million in the 2011 financial year (2010: € 1,347.5 million) due to the non-recurring expenses incurred in the course of the repositioning of the UNIQA Group in the amount of around € 131 million. Operating expenses for acquisition rose by 8.1 per cent to € 1,011.6 million (2010: € 935.7 million). Other operating expenses less reinsurance commission received increased by 30.3 per cent to € 536.7 million (2010: € 411.7 million).
In Austria, operating expenses increased by 19.4 per cent to € 923.9 million (2010: € 773.9 million). In CEE, this item amounted to € 404.0 million (2010: € 360.8 million) in 2011, corresponding to growth of 12.0 per cent. In the Western European countries, on the other hand, operating expenses only increased marginally by 3.5 per cent to € 220.3 million (2010: € 212.8 million).
The cost ratio of the UNIQA Group after reinsurance, i.e. the ratio of total operating expenses to Group premiums earned including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance, rose to 27.1 per cent in the past year (2010: 22.6 per cent) as a result of the developments mentioned above. Adjusted for the non-recurring expenses in connection with the repositioning of the Group, the cost ratio amounted to 24.8 per cent. The cost ratio before reinsurance was 26.6 per cent (2010: 22.0 per cent).
Investment result
Total investments including land and buildings used by the Group, real estate held as investments, shares in associates and investments of the unit- and index-linked life insurance and current cash and cash equivalents decreased slightly in the 2011 financial year by 0.7 per cent to € 24,601.1 million (31 December 2010: € 24,778.7 million).
Net investment income declined by 74.0 per cent to € 226.6 million (2010: € 872.3 million); this was due in particular due to the net impact of write-downs on Greek bonds in the amount of around € 348 million and the generally negative trend on the financial markets. A detailed presentation of investment income can be found in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (Note 34).
Loss on ordinary activities of minus € 325.6 million
The UNIQA Group recorded a loss on ordinary activities for the first time in 2011; this figure amounted to minus € 325.6 million (2010: € 141.8 million) as a result of write-downs on Greek bonds and the non-recurring expenses in connection with the repositioning of the Group. The net loss amounted to minus € 243.8 million (2010: net profit of € 90.9 million) in the year under review, while the consolidated loss amounted to minus € 245.6 million (2010: consolidated profit of € 42.3 million). The Management Board will therefore propose to the Supervisory Board and the Annual General Meeting that no dividend be paid for the 2011 financial year.
Group equity and total assets
The Group’s total equity fell by 28.0 per cent or € 425.9 million to € 1,095.6 million in 2011 (31 December 2010: € 1,521.5 million) due to the net loss recorded in the past financial year. This included minority interests in the amount of € 219.7 million (31 December 2010: € 244.3 million). The total assets of the Group declined marginally by 0.5 per cent in the year under review and amounted to € 28,567.7 million as at 31 December 2011 (31 December 2010: € 28,703.7 million).
Cash flow
The cash flow from the UNIQA Group’s operating activities amounted to € 393.9 million in 2011 (2010: € 924.7 million). The cash flow from investing activities amounted to minus € 186.4 million (2010: minus € 1,125.2 million), while the cash flow from financing activities amounted to minus € 58.3 million (2010: minus € 63.7 million). The dividend payment for the 2010 financial year totalled € 56.9 million.
The total change in cash and cash equivalents was € 149.2 million (2010: minus € 264.3 million). At the end of 2011, the Group had cash and cash equivalents in the amount of € 683.1 million (2010: € 532.9 million).
Staff
In 2011, the average number of employees in the UNIQA Group increased slightly to 15,081 (2010: 15,066). Of this figure, 6,179 (2010: 6,148) were employed in sales positions. The number of employees in administrative roles decreased to 8,902 (2010: 8,918).
The Group had 2,978 employees in the Central European (CE) region – Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary – in the 2011 financial year (2010: 2,995), 1,982 employees (2010: 2,080) in the Southeastern European (SEE) region – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – and 2,273 employees (2010: 2,124) in the Eastern European (EE) region – Romania and Ukraine. There were 56 employees (2010: 43) in Russia (RU). The average number of employees in the Western European markets was 1,067 (2010: 1,023). In Austria, a total of 6,725 people were employed by the Group (2010: 6,801). Including the employees of the general agencies working exclusively for the UNIQA Group, the total number people working for the Group amounted to 22,275.
In 2011, 53 per cent of the employees in Austria working in administrative positions were female. In sales, the male-female ratio was 80:20. 23 per cent (2010: 19 per cent) of the employees worked on a part-time basis. The average age of the workforce remained at 42 years in the year under review (2010: 42 years). In total, 12.1 per cent (2010: 11.7 per cent) of the employees participated in UNIQA’s results-oriented remuneration system in 2011 – a variable payment system that is linked both to the success of the company and to personal performance. In addition, the UNIQA Group offers young people in training the opportunity to get to know foreign cultures and make international contacts. 86 apprentices are currently being trained, and a total of 36 new apprentices were accepted in 2011.
