International markets

UNIQA’s international premium volume (including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance) increased by 7.0 per cent to € 1,977.0 million in 2012 thanks to the good performance in CEE and Western Europe (2011: € 1,848.4 million). The international share of Group premiums rose to 35.7 per cent as a result (2011: 33.4 per cent).

Including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance (after reinsurance), premiums earned increased by 8.0 per cent to € 1,803.0 million (2011: € 1,669.2 million). However, retained premiums earned (in accordance with IFRS) declined by 1.4 per cent to € 1,510.7 million (2011: € 1,532.1 million).

International premium volume written

Figures in € million

In Central Europe (CE) – Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary – premiums written decreased by 1.0 per cent to € 859.5 million (2011: € 868.3 million). In the Eastern Europe (EE) region – consisting of Romania and Ukraine – the premium volume written increased strongly by 26.6 per cent to € 199.5 million in 2012 (2011: € 157.6 million). Southeastern Europe (SEE) – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – again enjoyed encouraging premium growth of 3.3 per cent to € 193.5 million in 2012 (2011: € 187.4 million). The strongest premium growth was generated in the Russian market (RU), where premiums increased by 60.6 per cent to € 43.0 million (2011: € 26.8 million).

All in all, the Group’s premiums in CEE increased by 4.5 per cent to € 1,295.5 million (2011: € 1,240.1 million). Recurring premiums enjoyed even more positive development in 2012, rising by 8.0 per cent to € 1,183.4 million (2011: € 1,095.3 million). However, single-premium business declined strongly, particularly in Poland, falling by 22.6 per cent to € 112.1 million (2011: € 144.8 million). In 2012, the share of Group premiums attributable to CEE amounted to 23.4 per cent (2011: 22.4 per cent).

The premium volume in Western Europe (WE) – consisting of Italy, Liechtenstein and Switzerland – also increased by 12.0 per cent to € 681.5 million on the back of the strong performance in Italy (2011: € 608.3 million). Recurring premiums enjoyed even stronger growth of 20.6 per cent to € 352.3 million (2011: € 292.2 million), while single premiums rose by 4.2 per cent to € 329.2 million (2011: € 316.1 million). Western Europe’s share of Group premiums amounted to 12.3 per cent in 2012 (2011: 11.0 per cent).

Accordingly, the Group’s level of internationalisation at year-end 2012 was 35.7 per cent (2011: 33.4 per cent).

The premium volume written, including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance, was broken down among UNIQA’s individual regions as follows:

Total retained insurance benefits at the international Group companies fell by 11.1 per cent to € 1,043.4 million in 2012 (2011: € 1,173.9 million).

Benefits fell by 8.0 per cent to € 420.4 million in the Central Europe region (2011: € 457.0 million) and by 13.0 per cent to € 96.5 million in Eastern Europe (2011: € 110.9 million). By contrast, benefits in the Southeastern Europe region increased slightly by 2.1 per cent to € 104.5 million (2011: € 102.4 million). Benefits in Russia amounted to € 23.3 million in 2012 (2011: € 14.3 million). In Western Europe, the benefit volume fell by 18.5 per cent to € 398.6 million (2011: € 489.3 million).

Operating expenses at the international Group companies less reinsurance commission received rose by 11.2 per cent to € 543.8 million in 2012 (2011: € 488.8 million).

In Central Europe, operating expenses increased by 5.6 per cent to € 257.8 million (2011: € 244.1 million), while the figure for Eastern Europe also rose by 19.2 per cent to € 77.6 million (2011: € 65.1 million). In Southeastern Europe, operating expenses increased slightly by 2.2 per cent to € 80.2 million (2011: € 78.4 million). In Russia, operating expenses rose by 20.6 per cent to € 19.8 million in the past financial year (2011: € 16.4 million), while expenses in Western Europe increased by 27.8 per cent to € 108.4 million (2011: € 84.8 million).

Net investment income at the international Group companies increased by 54.5 per cent to € 151.5 million in 2012 as a result of positive developments on the financial markets (2011: € 98.0 million). The investment result in Western Europe improved by 55.8 per cent to € 81.8 million (2011: € 52.5 million), while the figure for CEE rose by 53.0 per cent to € 69.7 million (2011: € 45.5 million).

Before consolidation based on the geographic segments (see segment reporting), the profit on ordinary activities generated by the companies in the regions outside Austria in 2012 amounted to € 62.5 million (2011: loss of € 25.2 million). Earnings before taxes in CEE improved to € 13.2 million (2011: € -28.2 million), while the figure for Western Europe amounted to € 49.3 million (2011: € 3.0 million).