Austria’s UNIQA Insurance Group has reported that premiums written grew by 4.3% in Q3 of 2022 to €5,033.1 million, with increases recorded across all business lines.
Premiums written in property and casualty insurance rose by 5.5% to €2,832.2 million in Q3, while in health insurance, premiums written in the reporting period rose by 4.9% to €963.6 million.
Meanwhile, in life insurance, the premiums written including savings portions from the unit-linked and index-linked life insurance rose overall in the first nine months of 2022 by 1.2% to €1,237.4 million.
The company generated earnings before taxes of €275 million in the first nine months of 2022.
UNIQA also reported that the combined ratio increased slightly to 94.4%, compared with 94.2% in Q3 of 2021.
This was chiefly due to high claims burdens from major losses and severe weather, explains UNIQA. It adds that the overall cost ratio also had a slight increase in Q3 to 26.7% compared to 26.4% in Q3 2021, due to inflation.
UNIQA saw net investment income decrease in the first three quarter of 2022 by 11.7% to €368.8 million, citing that the impairment of Russian bonds had a negative impact on net investment income.
The Group’s investment portfolio fell to €18,197.3 million as of 30 September 2022, compared with the last reporting date of 31 December 2021, where it totalled €21,785.0 million. The Solvency II ratio, as of 30 September 2022, was 244% compared with 196% on 31 December 2021.
Andreas Brandstetter, CEO of the UNIQA Insurance Group, commented, “We have achieved sound results in the first nine months despite complex economic conditions.
“At €275 million, the earnings before taxes are only slightly below the previous year’s level, despite the high depreciation and impairment losses on Russian bonds from the first half of the year, high charges from major claims and natural catastrophes, and the sharp rise in inflation.”
“Our core business is resilient and energetic, both in Austria and in international markets. We were able to absorb the effects of inflation for the most part through high cost discipline. Our ‘UNIQA 3.0 – Seeding the Future’ growth programme is on schedule, and our subsidiaries in CEE are developing well following the integration of the ex-AXA companies”, Brandstetter added.
