23.05.2014 – 08:02

UNIQA Insurance Group AG

EANS-News: UNIQA Insurance Group AG
Economic capital ratio

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Company Information

UNIQA is well prepared for the stricter capital requirements for European
insurance companies from 2016
 
 
. UNIQA Group becomes first Austrian insurance group to publish a report on its
economic solvency position in line with Solvency II
 
. Economic capital ratio (ECR) according to internal approach of a sound 161
per cent in 2013
 
. UNIQA does not assess government bonds as risk-free and additionally secures
these assets with capital
 
. Gradual implementation of the UNIQA 2.0 long-term strategy programme, change
in interest rate levels and capital increase due to re-IPO strengthen economic
capital
 
 
The UNIQA Group has become the first Austrian insurance group to publish a
report on its economic solvency position (ECR report) with the key figures of
the economic capital model. The economic view meets the requirements of Solvency
II - the upcoming stricter capital requirements for European insurance companies
which will be effective from 2016.
 
The economic capital ratio of the UNIQA Group, which serves as an indicator of
capitalisation, amounted to 161% as at 31 December 2013 and was thus at a sound
level in accordance with the company's risk strategy. The economic capital ratio
is the ratio of economic capital (EUR4,442 million) to the economic capital
requirements (EUR2,762 million) in line with the internal capital approach.
Economic capital combines tier 1 capital (core capital) and tier 2 capital
(supplementary capital), while the economic capital requirements represent the
theoretical requirements for capital in the event of an extreme stress scenario.
 
UNIQA CRO, Kurt Svoboda, comments: "UNIQA is already very well prepared for
Solvency II and all of the conditions. Our capital ratio is in the optimum
target range, as we can absorb stress scenarios and also cover our cost of
capital. This confirms that UNIQA is excellently geared towards the existing
business model. With these results, we are well on the way to fulfilling not
just the regulatory requirements but also the Standard & Poor's requirements for
a target rating of 'A to AA'."
 
Regarding the continuing discussion about the assessment of government bonds
under Solvency II, Svoboda comments: "UNIQA has been classifying government
bonds as not risk-free for some time already and therefore secures them with
capital, including in the internal ECR model. This means that we are stricter
than is stipulated in the standard model of the European supervisory authority
EIOPA (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority). This obviously
pushes down our capital ratio slightly, but - in our opinion and as confirmed by
current economic reports - it reflects the real risk situation much better."
 
UNIQA 2.0 strategy takes effect
As part of the UNIQA 2.0 long-term strategy programme, UNIQA has already
initiated a large number of measures that are geared towards the stricter
capital requirements effective from 2016.
 
For example, in recent years UNIQA has stepped up sustainable asset-liability
management, thereby significantly reducing market risk and above all interest
rate risk.
UNIQA also implemented a comprehensive risk/return approach a few years ago and
is geared towards Solvency II in terms of corporate governance, too.
 
Solvency II represents challenge for European insurance companies
The introduction of Solvency II from 1 January 2016 will not only bring stricter
capital requirements for the European insurance sector. In addition, insurance
companies will have to fulfil requirements such as using complex calculation
methods to quantify the risk involved, following specific investment rules,
gearing governance towards the regulations, establishing principles for the
internal control system, implementing an adequate risk management method and
complying with extensive documentation and disclosure requirements. 
 
Svoboda comments: "The new standards and capital requirements must be fulfilled
from the start of 2016. We have tackled these challenges at a very early stage.
In addition to developing our economic capital model and our risk management
measures, we have also implemented a large part of the additional requirements
already, particularly in relation to governance."
 
B & W Deloitte GmbH has conducted an independent review of the Own Funds and
Economic Capital Requirement.
 
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains statements concerning UNIQA's future development.
These statements present estimates which were reached on the basis of all of the
information available to us at the present time. If the assumptions on which
they are based do not occur, the actual results may deviate from the results
currently expected. As a result, no liability is accepted for this information.
 
UNIQA 2.0
UNIQA 2.0 is a long-term strategy programme that the company has been
implementing since May 2011. UNIQA has set itself the target of increasing its
customer base to 15 million by 2020 and improving its EBT by up to
EUR 350 million between 2012 and 2015. In doing this, the company is focusing on
its core business as a primary insurer in its core markets of Austria and
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The business model is geared towards
profitable growth and long-term value added in these markets. UNIQA intends to
boost profitability at UNIQA Austria, increase productivity at Raiffeisen
Versicherung in Austria and leverage the growth potential in the CEE region and
is implementing a systematic risk/return approach.
 
UNIQA
The UNIQA Group is one of the leading insurance groups in its core markets of
Austria and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). 22,000 employees and exclusive
sales partners serve around 9.3 million customers in 19 countries. UNIQA is the
second-largest insurance group in Austria with a market share of around 22 per
cent. UNIQA operates in 15 markets in the CEE growth region: Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia,
Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. The UNIQA
Group also includes insurance companies in Italy, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Further inquiry note:
UNIQA Insurance Group AG 
Norbert Heller
Tel.: +43 (01) 211 75-3414
mailto:norbert.heller@uniqa.at

end of announcement                               euro adhoc 
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company:     UNIQA Insurance Group AG
             Untere Donaustraße 21
             A-1029 Wien
phone:       01/211 75-0
mail:         investor.relations@uniqa.at
WWW:         http://www.uniqagroup.com
sector:      Insurance
ISIN:        AT0000821103
indexes:     WBI, ATX Prime, ATX
stockmarkets: official market: Wien 
language:   English