Premium growth
The Austrian companies of the Vienna Insurance Group wrote gross premiums of EUR 3,755.72 million in 2008. This represents an increase of EUR 60.35 million, or 1.6%, over the previous year. Net earned premiums rose from EUR 3,304.49 million in 2007 to EUR 3,409.34 million in 2008, corresponding to an increase of 3.2%.
EUR 1,569.08 million, or 41.8%, of the premiums were written in the property and casualty segment, which represented an increase of 5.5% compared to 2007. The Austrian companies recorded particularly high growth in the non-motor-vehicle segments. Life insurance contributed EUR 1,872.36 million, or 49.9%, of the premium volume in Austria, although the Vienna Insurance Group on the whole suffered a 1.5% drop in Austria in 2008 due to volatility of single-premium products. Health insurance generated EUR 314.28 million in premiums, corresponding to an increase of 2.5% over the previous year (2007: EUR 306.60 million).
Expenses for claims and insurance benefits
Despite numerous storms, expenses for insurance claims fell to EUR 3,165.92 million, down from EUR 3,258.25 million in the previous year. This represents a 2.8% decrease in expenses. The exceptionally rapid claims settlement provided by the Vienna Insurance Group sets it apart as a reliable partner in the event of storms. Claims can also be reported over the Internet (www.wienerstaedtische.at and www.donauversicherung.at).
Operating expenses
The Austrian companies of the Vienna Insurance Group had operating expenses of EUR 599.26 million in 2008, including acquisition costs and less reinsurance commissions received, which represents a slight increase of 3.7% over the previous year.
Profit of EUR 344.33 million
The profit before taxes earned in Austria by the Vienna Insurance Group grew by 20.1% compared to 2007, corresponding to an increase of EUR 57.53 million.
Combined ratio of 94.6%
Although the combined ratio of the Austrian Vienna Insurance Group was slightly above the value in the previous year, it was nevertheless once again far below 100%. To be precise, the combined ratio of the Austrian companies after reinsurance (not including investment income) was 94.6% in 2008 (2007: 93.8%). Effective claims management by the Vienna Insurance Group was the main factor permitting this favourable result to be achieved once again.
Compare to 2007