UNITA, the only insurer that will carry out UNIQA's name in Romania
 UNITA will be the only company on the Romanian insurance market that will carry out UNIQA's name. The Austrian group's representatives stated yesterday during the press conference that there will be no more acquisitions in Romania. Therefore, after finalizing the rebranding process, UNITA, which belongs entirely to the Austrian group, will be named UNIQA Romania in Q1/2009. At the same time, UNIQA decided to limit its participation to ASTRA at the current 27%, to back off from any of its operational activity and to give up the co-branding ASTRA-UNIQA.
"All our efforts on the Romanian market, all our attention will channel on UNITA and on its local developing. This transaction is an opportunity for us to fulfill our ambitious objectives of growing in the Romanian market, one very important for UNIQA's strategy in the region", Andreas BRANDSTETTER, Member of the Board UNIQA Group Austria has stated.
So, the Austrian group will withdraw its name from the ASTRA-UNIQA logo, the company belonging to Dan ADAMESCU, after UNIQA's negotiation with the Romanian businessman for taking-over the majority stake has failed because they have not reached an agreement regarding the price, according to Andreas BRANDSTETTER.
In the case in which the company will operate a share capital increase, UNIQA will finance it in order to maintain its 27% participation, he added. UNIQA does not reject the possibility of selling these shares, but this kind of transaction will not be made this year, according to the company's representatives.
The Austrian group intends to launch itself through UNITA on the life insurance and health insurance markets, segments in which the group has important market shares in the countries where it operates. Besides, UNITA sold life insurance and was one of the pioneers on this segment in Romania, but the company's life portfolio has been transferred to OMNIASIG Life in 2005.
"We will start a life insurance company because this segment is very important for our mission. We have already started taking steps into obtaining the necessary authorizations", Andreas BRANSTETTER has stated.
There has not been any decision taken yet regarding implementing any restructure process in UNITA. The group will analyze the company's situation in the next period, but, they intend to improve the sales force and not to replace it.
Therefore, after finalizing the taking-over process, UNIQA will launch an integrating program through which its values and know-how will be implemented in the company, finalizing it all with a rebranding campaign under the name of UNIQA Romania.
Besides launching in life insurance, an operation that needs a longer period of time, the next established steps are developing the non-life product portfolio, as well as diversifying the distribution network on three pillars: its own agents, brokers and bancassurance.
The last one will have a very important role in the company's strategy due to the preferential partnership with RAIFFEISEN Bank for building new common projects in the bancassurance area, which also regards the bank's subsidiary in Romania.
UNIQA's entire take-over of the local non-life insurer, UNITA, was announced in this year's spring, while the European Commission's approval came by the end of 1stH/2008. The transaction's value is somewhere between EUR 130 and 250 million, the company's representatives have stated without giving the exact amount.
UNITA closed the first half of the year having a business of RON 270.51 million, a 15.13% growth compared to the same period of the past year (RON 234.95 million). These performances placed the company on the fifth place on the local market, and on the fourth place on the non-life segment.
UNIQA Group Austria is one of the biggest and most dynamic insurance groups in Central Europe, UNIQA being named the most trustful insurance brand on the Austrian market, but also in most European countries.
In the last years the list of the countries in which it activates has been extended and presently includes Slovenia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Liechtenstein, as well as Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo.
UNIQA registered in 2007 a gross written premiums volume of EUR 5.3 billion. In 2007 also, UNIQA Group had a profit of EUR 340 million, from which 33% was generated by companies outside Austria.
Author: Andreea IONETE
on 06.11.2008
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