Our heart beats blue and yellow

The military attack by the Russian Federation on the Republic of Ukraine represents a humanitarian tragedy for the people of Ukraine and a threat to democracy and peace in Europe. As a European insurance group, we are very concerned about the current situation and we stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. As we have known and appreciated our colleagues in Ukraine for many years, it is natural for us to support them as best we can during this difficult time. We are all one community across national borders and demonstrate impressive solidarity, especially in these difficult times. First and foremost, our focus is on humanitarian aid.

UNIQA serves 1.3 million customers in Ukraine. We are the number two in the market and have a team of around 850 employees. UNIQA Ukraine continues to operate despite severe war damage to several of our offices across the country. Since the beginning of the war, our employees have been working under the most difficult conditions from their home offices, we pay claims and benefits quickly and also provide psychological support to our customers throughout the country, e.g. via a medical call centre.

A Group-wide crisis team was created under the leadership of two UNIQA Group Management Board members in order to coordinate our activities efficiently and prepare UNIQA for all possible scenarios. The crisis team is responsible for analysing the development of the situation and for pre­paring and coordinating our relief measures. To this end, we are in continuous contact with our colleagues locally and with all relevant official bodies.

No more investments in Russia

The UNIQA Group has decided to stop all investments in the Russian insurance market with immediate effect as a direct consequence of the war. With this decision, we are responding to Russia’s military attack on Ukraine and the associated violations of the UN Charter.

“We left with only two suitcases, not understanding what was going on. It took a while for it to sink in: it’s war.”

Igor Chopey, Head of Partner Programmes, Retail

“Our lives have been divided into a ‘before’ and an ‘after’. We used to think that other things were important, now a call from friends means the world to us.”

Iryna Kriuchkova, Head of Regional Sales, Retail

“We stand for a life in freedom, a life free from terror and darkness. We are grateful for the commitment of all those who support us.”

Vira Purdik, Product Marketing

“War is the terror of a flying missile followed by the pain of enduring loss.”

Viktoriya Ivanova, Head of Chernihiv Regional Office

“We have been able to emerge stronger from every crisis so far and we will not stop fighting for our independence and democracy this time either.”

Yurii Trebenkov, Head of Odessa Regional Office

Extensive aid activities

Immediately after the start of the war, we launched a number of initiatives to provide humanitarian support to the Ukrainian population severely affected as well as to our colleagues:

• UNIQA Helping Hands: we have launched a donation campaign together with Caritas Austria and the Austrian Red Cross. The amounts collected here are used directly in the crisis area for aid on the ground through our partners. In addition to the donations collected from the UNIQA community, UNIQA will also be donating a total of €1 million to these partner organisations. At the time this report went to press, the total volume of donations already amounted to €1.4 million.
• Help for employees in Ukraine: we have established a comprehensive network to support our employees locally. Every­one in the company, including the local Management Board, is connected through various channels so that mutual support can be organised quickly. All staff in Ukraine received their salaries for February and March in advance. Some of our local staff also support local civil organisations and can, of course, continue to do this during their working hours.
• Help for employees fleeing their homes: more than 300 Ukrainian UNIQA employees and their family members have fled their home country so far. They are met at all border crossings by volunteers from the local UNIQA companies, taken to temporary accommodation and provided with comprehensive care. UNIQA Poland and our Slovak, Hungarian and Romanian colleagues are setting an impressive example of Group-wide solidarity by helping directly on the borders with Ukraine. In Poland, we have prepared accommodation, financial support and psychological and legal assistance for our Ukrainian colleagues and their families. Our helpline for those in need is available around the clock, and in addition over 100 staff and volunteers are offering their homes or other forms of support, such as transporting refugees to their destination. We can currently offer accommodation for up to 145 people.
• A sea of lights at the UNIQA Tower: in addition to the help we are providing locally and our fundraising as part of UNIQA Helping Hands, we are also setting another shining example: from now on, a sea of lights illuminates our UNIQA Tower in the heart of Vienna every evening. The sea of lights is a symbol of hope and is intended to express our deep sympathy to Ukrainians.