Solid base in Austria, attractive potential in CEE

Austria and CEE are our two core markets. Both are crucial in their own way to the success and future potential of the UNIQA Group.

Austria: strong brand, strong position

We have been operating our insurance business in our domestic market of Austria for more than 200 years. With a market share of 22 per cent, we are the second-largest of all Austrian insurance companies today and rank first in the health insurance segment. In Austria we support 3.6 million customers, either directly or together with our banking and sales partner Raiffeisen.

Our healthy market position is based on innovative products, an outstanding sales and distribution structure and the strong brands of UNIQA and Raiffeisen. We are also optimistic about the future: solid macroeconomic data, political stability and a highly prudent regulator continue to make Austria an attractive market. There is also the fact that the average Austrian spends €1,895 each year on insurance. This is still relatively low for Western Europe, particularly given the high level of living standards in Austria.

CEE: growth potential for many years

The increased spending on insurance in our CEE markets is even more significant. This region is home to more than two-thirds of our customers, i.e. more than six million people. With a population of around 160 million people – rising to about 300 million people including Russia – the region has experienced a noticeable economic recovery since 2016. The insurance density is also rising gradually in line with the improvement in the overall economic situation. In addition to motor vehicle liability insurance which, as a mandatory insurance, has traditionally been the highest-selling product in CEE, there is now also a growing demand for household and homeowners insurance, as well as products for personal protection such as accident and health insurance.

CEE currently only accounts for around one-third of the Group’s premiums, with an average premium per person annually of €200. Yet the region is catching up considerably: in the more developed insurance markets such as the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia the average premium per person is €400 and rising. Growth is almost inevitable. In order to exploit this potential, we rely on strong inside sales in CEE as well and on our established partnership with Raiffeisen. The extensive sales partnership with Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) gives us direct access to approximately 14 million Raiffeisen customers in 13 countries in CEE.

High potential in CEE

Insurance spending per person and year in Euro