With a premium volume written (including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance) of € 5,885.5 million, the UNIQA Group is one of the leading insurance groups in Central and Eastern Europe. The savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance in the amount of € 727.9 million is offset against the changes in actuarial provisions in accordance with FAS 97 (U.S. GAAP). Adjusted for the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life insurance, the premium volume written amounted to € 5,157.6 million.
UNIQA in Europe
UNIQA offers its products and services via all distribution channels (hired sales force, general agencies, brokers, banks and direct sales) and covers the entire range of insurance sectors.
The listed holding company, UNIQA Insurance Group AG, manages the Group and handles its indirect insurance business. It also performs various service functions for the Austrian and international insurance companies with a view to taking best advantage of synergy effects and consistently implementing the Group’s long-term corporate strategy.
UNIQA International AG manages the international activities of the Group. This company is also responsible for the ongoing monitoring and analysis of the international target markets and for acquisitions and post-merger integration.
Holding company renamed UNIQA Insurance Group AG
After the UNIQA Group established a streamlined, capital market-friendly Group structure with no significant minority interests in 2012, the Annual General Meeting in May 2013 additionally resolved to change the name of UNIQA Versicherungen AG to UNIQA Insurance Group AG in order to reflect its role as the holding company of a listed international insurance group.
The renaming of UNIQA International Versicherungs-Holding AG to UNIQA International AG was also resolved and implemented.
UNIQA places supplementary capital bond
In July 2013, UNIQA Insurance Group AG placed a supplementary capital bond with a volume of € 350 million with institutional investors in Europe. The bond has a term of 30 years and can be called in ten years at the earliest. The coupon is 6.875 per cent per year. With this measure, UNIQA strengthened and optimised its capital base and capital structure in preparation for Solvency II.
Re-IPO successfully completed
In October 2013, the UNIQA Group successfully implemented the capital increase (re-IPO) planned as part of the strategic programme UNIQA 2.0, generating gross proceeds of € 757 million. A total of 94,752,100 new shares were placed with Austrian and international investors at a price of € 8.00 per share. The share capital of UNIQA Insurance Group AG increased to € 309,000,000 as a result, leading to a considerable expansion in UNIQA’s free float to 35.4 per cent.
The proceeds from the issue will be used to strengthen UNIQA Group’s capital in order to facilitate the further implementation of UNIQA 2.0 while also providing strategic flexibility for future growth.
Rating
After the capital structure was strengthened, the rating agency Standard & Poor’s upgraded the rating for UNIQA Insurance Group AG to “A-” (from “BBB+”). UNIQA Österreich Versicherungen AG and the Group reinsurance company UNIQA Re AG, Switzerland, were upgraded to “A”. At the same time, the rating for the supplementary capital bond was raised to “BBB”. Standard & Poor’s considers the outlook for all of the companies to be “stable”.
Acquisition in Croatia and Serbia
In October 2013, the UNIQA Group signed an agreement to acquire the Baloise Group’s insurance companies in Croatia and Serbia. This will result in a significant consolidation of UNIQA Group’s market position in the entire Southeastern European region, and particularly in Croatia. The purchase price was € 75 million. The acquisition was completed in the first quarter of 2014.
Companies included in the IFRS consolidated financial statements
UNIQA Insurance Group AG’s consolidated financial statements for 2013 include 53 Austrian companies (including UNIQA Insurance Group AG) and 69 international companies. A total of 25 affiliated companies whose influence on the presentation of a true and fair view of the net assets, financial position and results of operation was immaterial were not included in consolidation. In addition, eight Austrian companies were recognised at equity as associates. Eight associates were of minor importance; the equity interests in these companies are recognised at fair value.
Details on the consolidated and associated companies can be found in the corresponding overview in the notes to the consolidated financial statements. The accounting policies are also described in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.
Risk report
UNIQA’s comprehensive risk report can be found in the notes to the 2013 consolidated financial statements.
