To us, social involvement also means commitment to marginalised groups. We aid and encourage participation in sports activities by individuals with special needs, as well as many other projects aimed at offering disadvantaged people greater fulfilment.
Charitable activities
As of 2013, employees involved in public-spirited projects can take one day off from work per year to volunteer. As part of the refugee aid programme “Refugees Welcome”, the UNIQA Group went a step further in 2015 by doubling the number of days that employees could take off: those interested in participating in refugee-related activities were allowed to take a second day off, which could be spent at the Vienna West Train Station, at a border crossing or in one of the refugee shelters for about 180 people provided by UNIQA in Vienna. In addition, both cash and in-kind donations were collected, including items such as sleeping bags (with company management matching donations one-to-one) as well as food and clothing. During 2015, we also donated 800 old employee mobile phones to charity. By recycling them, the long-term unemployed are being provided with the means of reentering the job market.
On the International Day of the Girl Child, 11 October 2015, the UNIQA Tower was illuminated in pink to draw attention to the unequal treatment of girls around the world. In countries where UNIQA International operates, regional social welfare projects are being supported on an ongoing basis, such as the project for children with learning difficulties by the Institute Komanski Most in Montenegro.
Assistance during periods of transition
Many crises are temporary in nature and can impact practically anyone. In response to the global economic crisis, in the case of endowment insurance the UNIQA Group therefore provides the opportunity to apply for a release from premium payments while keeping full coverage. This TimeOut option, which involves a free deferral of premium payments for at least six months, up to a maximum of two years, starting with the fourth year of coverage, is available to the unemployed or the chronically ill, for example.
In the field of culture, UNIQA also provides support to museums, such as the Kunsthaus Bregenz, the Lentos, the Joanneum, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Library, the Residence Gallery, the Jewish Museum of Vienna, the Arnold Schönberg Center, the Sigmund Freud Museum, and events, such as the CEE Film Festival, while also sponsoring various international art projects.
