Sustainable growth in Austria and CEE

More than 16.7 million customers in Austria and Central Europe place their trust in the UNIQA Group’s first-class service. Our ambitious goal: to be the best service provider in both markets and to be given a rating of at least 4.5 out of 5 stars by our customers.

For over 200 years we have been successful in the insurance business, and in our home market of Austria we are one of the leading providers in the sector. In our second main market, the Central and Eastern Europe region, we have been able to significantly strengthen our market position in recent years through the integration of the former AXA companies in Poland, Slovakia and Czechia. The UNIQA Group continues to focus on profitable growth despite the economic challenges.

Austria: solid position in the relevant business lines

We secure our sustainable leading position in Austria through innovative products, a powerful sales force and the UNIQA and Raiffeisen brands, which are firmly established in the market. Thanks to our many years of experience in the insurance business, we are now the second largest Austrian insurer with a market share of around 21 per cent, and we have been in first place in private health insurance for many years. We have 3.7 million customers in Austria, either directly or through our banking and sales partner, Raiffeisen. In the coming years, our focus in our home Austrian market will primarily be on further expanding our activities in the healthcare sector – an attractive growth market.

We also continue to see potential for further growth in the Austrian insurance market, with Austrians currently spending an average of €2,148 on insurance products each year. Compared with other western European countries, this is still relatively low, especially given the high standard of living in Austria. Robust economic development and a prudent regulator also open up good prospects for the future.

CEE: insurance density with potential to grow

Three quarters of our customers – around 13 million – live in the CEE region already, currently accounting for more than 38 per cent of the UNIQA Group’s total premiums. Annual per capita insurance expenditure in Central and Eastern Europe is still significantly lower than in Austria: the average premium in these markets is around €250, and about €435 in Poland, Slovakia, Czechia and Hungary, which we have combined into what we call our second core market. And this trend is clearly rising.

With a total of around 154 million inhabitants, the CEE region therefore offers considerable growth potential. A key factor here is that the region has been experiencing a remarkable economic upswing for years. Even the economic slump triggered by Covid-19 was short-lived, and the insurance markets in the CEE region also recovered quickly. The years 2021, 2022 and 2023 were again characterised by significant premium growth.

The region continues to be characterised by difficult economic conditions, such as double-digit inflation rates and falling real wages, and the convergence process has not yet been completed. Nevertheless, we expect a continuous increase in insurance density over the next few decades. According to all experts, growth rates in the CEE region will be significantly higher than those in the eurozone.

Experience shows that, in addition to the need for motor vehicle liability insurance, which traditionally represents the largest volume in the CEE region, growing prosperity also increases the need for home and homeowner insurance as well as personal protection products such as accident and health insurance.

UNIQA is utilising this growth potential and is also relying in CEE on a strong sales force and the well-established partnership with Raiffeisen, with the Addiko Group in the Balkans and mBank in Poland.

CEE: a region with major growth potential

Insurance spending per capita and year in €