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