11. Property, plant and equipment

Property, plant and equipment are accounted for using the cost model.

Gains on the disposal of property, plant and equipment are recorded under the item “Other insurance income”, while losses are recorded under “Other technical expenses”.

If the use of a property changes and an owner-occupied property becomes an investment property, the property is reclassified as investment land and buildings with the carrying amount at the date of the change.

Property, plant and equipment are depreciated on a straight line basis over a useful life for buildings of 5 to 80 years and for technical systems and operating and office equipment of 2 to 20 years. Depreciation methods, useful lives and residual values are reviewed on every reporting date and adjusted if necessary. The depreciation charges for property, plant and equipment are recognised in profit/(loss) for the period on the basis of allocated under the items , “Operating expenses” and “Net investment income” so that the expenses and earnings are distributed on the basis of their causation.

Leases

There are around 1,500 contracts throughout the entire Group which fall within the scope of the standard and for which UNIQA is lessee. Nearly all contracts are simple standard contracts. They mainly relate to real estate and in part to operating and office equipment. A significant portion of the capitalised rights of use consists of a small number of contracts concluded for an indefinite period. for which estimates had to be made regarding their and the exercise of termination options. The terms used to calculate these contracts are up to 40 years. The average contract term of the remaining contracts is between three and five years.

The discount rate used to determine the liability consists of the risk-free interest rate adjusted for country risk, creditworthiness, the quality of collateral and a repayment factor.

Non-lease components included in the leases will not be allocated. Leases with a contractual term of less than twelve months and low value assets were not recognised.

UNIQA has not made use of the relief option for Covid-19-related payment benefits (see also Chapter “Changes in major accounting policies as well as new and amended standards”).

In € thousand

Land and buildings for own use

Usage rights from land and buildings for own use

Other property, plant and equipment

Usage rights from other property, plant and equipment

Total

At 1 January 2019

411,374

0

249,709

0

661,083

Currency translation

–364

25

269

9

–61

Change in basis of consolidation

0

–25

275

–9

240

Additions

6,141

70,977

20,696

1,773

99,588

Disposals

–2,511

–394

–21,964

–16

–24,884

Reclassifications

–56

0

–10,556

0

–10,612

At 31 December 2019

414,585

70,584

238,429

1,757

725,355

At 1 January 2020

414,585

70,584

238,429

1,757

725,355

Currency translation

–5,268

–409

–2,776

–62

–8,514

Change in basis of consolidation

0

27,332

3,128

2,584

33,044

Additions

1,907

31,106

21,331

119

54,463

Disposals

–33,048

–29,498

–8,831

–249

–71,626

Reclassifications

14,355

0

73

0

14,428

At 31 December 2020

392,532

99,115

251,354

4,148

747,149

Accumulated depreciation and impairment losses

In € thousand

Land and buildings for own use

Usage rights from land and buildings for own use

Other property, plant and equipment

Usage rights from other property, plant and equipment

Total

At 1 January 2019

–175,801

0

–174,219

0

–350,021

Currency translation

170

0

–102

0

68

Change in basis of consolidation

0

0

11

0

11

Additions from depreciation

–10,874

–10,254

–15,004

–659

–36,791

Additions from impairment

–13

0

0

0

–13

Disposals

471

317

12,364

16

13,167

Reclassifications

0

0

4

0

4

Reversal of impairment

0

0

1

0

1

At 31 December 2019

–186,048

–9,937

–176,947

–643

–373,575

At 1 January 2020

–186,048

–9,937

–176,947

–643

–373,575

Currency translation

1,910

112

1,694

27

3,745

Change in basis of consolidation

0

0

0

0

0

Additions from depreciation

–11,142

–13,066

–16,673

–736

–41,617

Additions from impairment

–23

0

0

0

–23

Disposals

27,660

599

6,561

235

35,054

Reclassifications

–5,986

0

–9

0

–5,994

At 31 December 2020

–173,628

–22,292

–185,373

–1,117

–382,410

Carrying amounts

In € thousand

Land and buildings for own use

Usage rights from land and buildings for own use

Other property, plant and equipment

Usage rights from other property, plant and equipment

Total

At 1 January 2019

235,573

0

75,489

0

311,062

At 31 December 2019

228,537

60,647

61,482

1,114

351,780

At 31 December 2020

218,904

76,823

65,981

3,031

364,739

The fair values of the land and buildings for own use are derived from expert reports and are comprised as follows:

Fair values

In € thousand

Property and casualty insurance

Health insurance

Life insurance

Total

At 31 December 2019

208,991

31,076

185,784

425,851

At 31 December 2020

189,887

38,566

205,250

433,703

Other property, plant and equipment refers mainly to technical systems and operating and office equipment.

Amounts recognised in consolidated financial statements

In € thousand

2020

2019

Amounts recognised in the consolidated income statement

 

 

Interest on lease liabilities

759

1,074

Expenses relating to short-term leases

1,405

1,717

Expenses relating to leases of low-value assets, excluding short-term leases of low-value assets

4,838

5,200

Amounts recognised in the consolidated statement of cash flows

 

 

Cash outflows for leases

–13,768

–10,628

Operating expenses
This item includes acquisition expenses, portfolio management expenses and the expenses for implementing reinsurance. The operating expenses remain for the company’s own account following deduction of the commissions and profit participation received from the reinsurance business ceded.
Insurance benefits
Total of insurance benefit payments and changes in the claims provision during the financial year in connection with direct insurance and reinsurance contracts (gross). This involves net insurance benefits when reduced by the amount ceded to reinsurance companies. This does not include claims settlement expenses and changes in the provisions for claims settlement expenses.
Duration
Duration refers to the weighted average term of an interest-rate-sensitive investment or of a portfolio and is a measure of risk for the sensitivity of investments in the event of changes to interest rates.
Acquisition costs
The amount paid to acquire an asset in cash or cash equivalents or the fair value of another form of compensation at the time of acquisition.