Health insurance

Health insurance, in terms of premiums, is the third-largest insurance line in the UNIQA Group. This insurance line includes voluntary health insurance for private customers, commercial preventive healthcare and opt-out offers for certain freelancers, such as lawyers, architects and chemists. In health insurance, we cleared just under €1.0 billion in premiums across the Group in 2014; this was about 16 per cent of total premium volume. We are the undisputed market leader in this line of insurance in Austria, with a 48 per cent market share. About 92 per cent of premiums come from Austria, with the remaining 8 per cent coming from international business.

Long-term and stable – health insurance

Total

Stable pillar // Health insurance is, with about 16 per cent of premiums, the third-largest insurance line in the UNIQA Group. It includes voluntary health insurance for private customers, commercial preventive healthcare and opt-out offers for certain independent contractors such as lawyers, architects, and chemists.

Austria

Market leaders // The largest portion of premiums in health insurance is generated in Austria. In this strategically important line, UNIQA is, with about a 48 per cent share of the market, the undisputed number one. 1) Source: Insurance Association of Austria, Annual Report 2013

Fundamentals of health insurance

Private health insurance is a property/casualty insurance product. In Austria, however, it is calculated “as a type of life insurance.” This simply means that a policy reserve is set aside at the beginning of the policy term to finance benefits as they increase with age. Health insurance policies cannot be cancelled by the insurer. Because cost structures change over time, premiums are continuously adjusted.

About one-fifth of health insurance benefits go to stationary care (for example, premium category), around one-fifth to out-patient care and fixed-sum insurance products such as daily benefits for hospital stays. In Austria, the UNIQA Group also operates four private hospitals through the PremiQaMed Group, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of UNIQA Österreich Versicherungen AG.

Stable long-term business model

Health insurance is characterised by stable contributions to earnings, long-term contracts and a positive growth outlook. Premiums rise in line with the development of health costs and life expectancy. Because health insurance provisions are not transferrable in the event of a withdrawal, the rate of cancellations in this line is low.

Health insurance, unlike property insurance, is scarcely influenced by elemental events. However, the current low interest rate environment in Europe also poses a challenge to this line of insurance. Future regulatory changes could also have an effect on health insurance. UNIQA is active in the insurance association, working together with other insurance companies to counter negative developments.

Development from 2010–2014

Steady growth // The premiums in health insurance are increasing with the rise in health costs and life expectancy. Since 2010, the premium volume in the UNIQA Group has risen from €846.6 million to €960.8 million. At the same time, the margin – in this case the relationship of the profit to the technical provisions – has developed positively: It is currently at 5.0 per cent. 1) Exclusive Mannheimer Group

Focus on preventive healthcare

UNIQA strongly promotes prevention. We cooperate with leading companies in Austria in commercial health promotion. Some of our projects in this field include the UNIQA VitalTruck and the UNIQA HealthCare Truck, which toured through Austria as well as other countries such as Serbia and Montenegro in 2014. Since 2009, UNIQA VitalBilanz (“Vital Balance”) has been offering companies about 120 modules on fitness, nutrition, psychology, energy and the environment. We are working on expanding this programme, enhancing partnerships, and developing a Fitness Profile 2.0 for businesses.

The UNIQA VitalPlan also gives private customers in Austria a comprehensive range of preventive services, from supervision by VitalCoaches to a VitalCheck. Our MedPLUS 24service health hotline also offers a team of physicians to answer questions. We have also offered a three-level prevention plan since 2014 that can be associated with a premium healthcare plan. Because an active lifestyle has a positive effect on health, last spring we introduced the first health insurance tariff to the market that rewards health-conscious customers.

Health on wheels // New benchmarks in commercial health management: with the UNIQA Trucks, companies can offer their employees health checks on location. In 2014 we tested the fitness levels of about 1,600 people in the UNIQA VitalTruck. At the health check-up in the UNIQA Mobile HealthCare Truck about 1,600 people were checked. The trucks are also available abroad: they toured for example through Serbia and Montenegro.

3 to 5 per cent // In Austria, the cancellation rate in health insurance is moderate.

25 years // That’s how long the average contract term is in Austria.

90 years // The longest contract in health insurance has been in effect now for over 90 years.