Vienna Insurance Group company profile

Progressive insurer – conservative investor

Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) is a progressive insurer that consciously focuses on its core competence: the insurance business. In large part due to its risk-conscious, conservative investment policy, VIG stands for security and financial stability – as an insurer, employer, business partner, distribution partner and capital market issuer. This was also underlined by the Standard & Poor's rating agency, which renewed its A+ rating with stable outlook for 2012. This makes Vienna Insurance Group the best-rated company in the ATX leading index of the Vienna Stock Exchange. The Company's listing on the Prague Stock Exchange in 2008 highlights VIG's strategic orientation towards the Central and Eastern European economic area (CEE).

Vienna Insurance Group also has the aim of creating and promoting socially responsible and sustainable conditions for a society worth living in. VIG therefore feels obligated to involve itself in cultural and social concerns in order to remain true to its fundamental goal of value-oriented growth.

Focus on Austria and Central and Eastern Europe

Vienna Insurance Group, whose roots reach back to 1824, was quick to identify the many growth opportunities offered by Central and Eastern Europe. Starting as Wiener Städtische in Austria, the Company was one of the first Western European insurance companies to enter the CEE region and has been expanding there for more than 20 years. In the process, VIG has developed from a successful local insurance company to a leading international insurance group with around 50 insurance companies in 24 European countries.

More than 50% of Group premiums and earnings now come from the CEE region. VIG is a clear overall market leader in its core markets, and in the life and non-life insurance segments, placing it in an excellent position to take advantage of the long-term opportunities offered by Central and Eastern Europe.

With establishment of VIG RE, the Group has also had its own reinsurance company since 2008, and the location of its registered office in the Czech Republic underscores the importance of the CEE region as a growth market for VIG.

Trust in local entrepreneurship

The Austrian VIG companies have offered an extensive product portfolio in both the life and non-life areas for many years. The low insurance density and large populations of many Central and Eastern European countries offer enormous potential for further growth over the medium and long term. In order to be a successful insurer in this region, one has to understand customer needs. This is the reason that VIG places its trust in the sound market knowledge of local management and the experience of its local employees. The combination of local market expertise and product know-how puts Vienna Insurance Group in an optimal position to continue consolidating its market position in Austria whilst at the same time benefiting from the rising standard of living in the CEE region, with the associated increase in the need for insurance.

Close customer relationships based on a multi-brand strategy and multi-channel distribution

All customers are unique in terms of their personal living circumstances, need for security and retirement provisions, and the way they like to receive advice. This requires considerable flexibility in insurance products, as well as foresight and prudence. Vienna Insurance Group is aware of this and is represented by more than one company or brand and a broad distribution network in most of its markets. Even though every one of the 48 insurance companies has its own identity and individual strengths, they all follow a common goal: to maintain a closer relationship with customers than others do.

Partnership with Erste Group

The strategic partnership established with Erste Bank in 2008 facilitates long-term cooperation between the two leading financial services providers in the region, which are both firmly anchored in Central and Eastern Europe. Both companies benefit equally from this collaboration. Erste Group branches distribute VIG insurance products and, in return, VIG companies offer Erste Group bank products.

People behind every number

The approximately 24,000 employees of the 48 insurance companies in the Group are a key success factor. In addition to the commitment, professional advisory services and excellent service they provide, these VIG employees stand out for the diversity of the many countries they represent in the Group. Continuous employee development is of key importance, since only a combination of local market knowledge with the personal and professional qualifications of each employee can lead to the best product solutions. To enable women to reach their full potential, VIG also has the goal of creating the conditions necessary to make entry and promotion within the Group more attractive to female employees.