EANS-News: VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP WITH STABLE PREMIUM DEVELOPMENT IN 2015

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Financial Figures/Balance Sheet/Results and Embedded Value for the
year 2015

* EUR 9.0 billion in Group premiums
* Combined ratio at solid 97.3 percent
* Significant increase in Group Embedded Value

Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) records solid premium performance in
2015. EUR 9.0 billion in gross written premiums. The 1.4 percent
decrease in premium volume was primarily due to the ongoing low level
of interest rates and the resulting restraint exercised with respect
to sales of single-premium life insurance products. Premiums from
regular-premium life insurance recorded excellent growth of 4.9
percent. Adjusted for single-premium business, Vienna Insurance Group
achieved premium growth of 2.2 percent.

The result for financial year 2015 was adversely affected by a
reduction in current financial income due to the continued low level
of interest rates. Earnings were also reduced by one-off effects,
such as the write-down of IT systems and impairments of goodwill and
insurance portfolios. Profit (before taxes) reached EUR 172.1
million. Earnings per share were EUR 0.66.

Due to a solid underwriting result the combined ratio was 97.3
percent, only marginally higher than the previous year's value of
96.7 percent.

The Group financial result of around EUR 1.1 billion was affected by
a decrease in current financial income due to the low-interest rate
environment. Investments (including cash and cash equivalents) were
EUR 31.8 billion at the end of 2015, corresponding to an increase of
2.2 percent.

The Group Embedded Value (after taxes) grew significantly by 8.1
percent to EUR 6.5 billion in 2015, despite a challenging
environment.[1]

VIG's A+ rating with a stable outlook from Standard & Poor's
continues to be the best rating of any company in the ATX Index.

The Managing Board will propose a dividend of EUR 0.60 per share for
the financial year 2015 to the statutory bodies. This represents a
dividend payout ratio of around 78 percent of Group net profits after
minority interests.

Regular-premium life insurance records significant growth

51.0 percent of the total premium volume in 2015 was attributable to
property and casualty insurance, 44.6 percent to life insurance and
4.4 percent to health insurance.

Vienna Insurance Group companies raised premium volume in the
property and casualty area by 0.8 percent to EUR 4.6 billion. The
corporate business (+7.0 percent) and SME business (+6.0 percent)
recorded excellent growth. The premium increases in Romania (+21.4
percent) and the "Remaining Markets" (+7.3 percent) were particularly
noteworthy. Overall growth was achieved in spite of the restrictive
underwriting policy successfully implemented in Italy and the
selective motor vehicle underwriting policy that continued in Poland.

Life insurance generated EUR 4.0 billion in premiums in 2015,
representing a drop of 4.2 percent compared to the previous year.
"The decrease is solely due to intentional restraint in the
single-premium business. Premiums from regular- premium life
insurance products recorded a very good increase of 4.9 percent",
explained Elisabeth Stadler, Chairwoman of the Managing Board of VIG.

In health insurance, Vienna Insurance Group wrote EUR 398 million in
premiums, representing an increase of 3.0 percent. Most of the health
insurance business is attributable to Austria.

Central and Eastern Europe on course for continued success

Vienna Insurance Group continued to maintain its targeted CEE
strategy in the financial year just ended. "The rapid economic
recovery in many markets of the region compared to Western Europe
confirms that our decision to operate in Central and Eastern Europe
was correct. The results speak for themselves. 50 percent of Group
premiums are generated in the CEE region. The VIG markets in Central
and Eastern Europe contribute 55 percent of profits before taxes",
stressed Elisabeth Stadler. VIG also continued its expansion with
successful

acquisitions in the Baltic region and Bulgaria in 2015.

Results in the regions

Undisputed top position in Austria

Group companies Wiener Städtische, Donau Versicherung and s
Versicherung create a strong foundation for Vienna Insurance Group in
Austria. Its market share of 23.7 percent makes it the undisputed
number 1 in the Austrian insurance market. The companies wrote gross
premiums of around EUR 4.1 billion in 2015, representing a marginal
decrease of 0.5 percent compared to the previous year. Around EUR 2.4
billion of the premium volume was generated by Wiener Städtische, EUR
812 million by Donau Versicherung and EUR 858 million by s
Versicherung.

VIG significantly improved its profitability in Austria, raising
profits (before taxes) to EUR 213.0 million (+25.5 percent) in the
financial year 2015. The combined ratio fell by 2.4 percentage points
to 97.5 percent.

Excellent combined ratio in the Czech Republic

Vienna Insurance Group remained the leader in its largest CEE market,
the Czech Republic, with a market share of around 33 percent. The VIG
companies increased property and casualty premiums by 1.4 percent.
The ongoing low-interest rate environment led to continued restraint
in the single-premium life insurance business, thereby reducing
premiums in the life segment by 16.3 percent. Overall, the Czech
Group companies generated around EUR 1.6 billion in premiums.

Profit (before taxes) reached EUR 163.0 million. At 90.7 percent, the
combined ratio was once again at an outstanding level.

Property and casualty premiums increase in Slovakia

The Slovakian VIG companies also have a top market share of around 34
percent. Total premium volume was EUR 716.5 million, including a 1.8
percent increase in property and casualty premiums. Poistovna
Slovenskej sporitelne (PSLSP) was very successful with sales of
regular-premium life insurance products through the local Erste Group
subsidiary. The restraint in single-premium business leads also in
Slovakia to an overall decline in life insurance premiums.

The combined ratio was at a good level of 96.2 percent. Profit
(before taxes) was EUR 51.9 million.

Price battle in Polish motor insurance

Price competition continues to be strong in the Polish insurance
market. The local VIG companies were nevertheless able to defend
their position as number four in the market. Overall, EUR 838.9
million in premiums were generated. Use of a selective underwriting
policy for motor vehicle insurance caused property and casualty
premiums to fall(-14.3 percent). The excellent growth achieved by
regular-premium life insurance products (+33.8 percent) was unable to
compensate for the decline in single- premium business also in
Poland.

Profit (before taxes) reached EUR 43.4 million. In spite of strong
price competition in motor, the combined ratio was successfully held
below the 100 percent mark at 99.3 percent.

Rapid premium growth in Romania

Vienna Insurance Group succeeded in efficiently taking advantage of
improved conditions in the ongoing challenging Romanian market. This
can be seen, for example, by the around 3 percentage point increase
that raised VIG's market share to around 23 percent, thereby
considerably strengthening its market leadership position. The Group
companies significantly increased premium volume to EUR 428.6 million
(+26.2 percent), achieving gains in both the property and casualty
(21.4 percent) and life insurance lines of business (+51.2 percent).
The cooperation with the Erste Group also achieved great success with
BCR Life in Romania.

Profit (before taxes) was EUR 5.6 million. The combined ratio was
further reduced and lies only slightly above the 100 percent mark at
102.4 percent.

Remaining Markets achieve dynamic growth

The success of VIGs strong regional diversification was shown once
again by the premium growth achieved in the Remaining Markets, which
includes many of the Group's smaller markets in the CEE region.
Premium volume grew by a total of 12 percent to around EUR 1.3
billion. Property and casualty grew by 7.3 percent, and the life
segment even grew by as much as 18 percent. Premium growth was
particularly strong in countries such as Hungary (+13.5 percent),
Serbia (+14.1 percent), Bulgaria (+14.6 percent), the Baltic
countries (+15.0 percent) and Turkey (+12.3 percent).

The Remaining Markets earned a profit (before taxes) of EUR 42.8
million in 2015. The combined ratio was 99.8 percent.

Significant increase in Group Embedded Value

The Embedded Value is calculated according to international standards
and is the net asset value of Vienna Insurance Group plus the present
value of expected future profits from existing life and health
insurance contracts. It has been certified by B&W Deloitte GmbH,
Cologne.

The long-term viability of the insurance business of Vienna Insurance
Group is reflected by the 8.1 percent increase in the Group Embedded
Value (after taxes), raising it to EUR 6.5 billion as of 31 December
2015 (adjusted value in 2014: EUR 6.0 billion).

High solvency level

VIG is the only Austrian insurance group with a partial internal
model that has been approved for calculating the Solvency II ratio by
the Financial Market Authority. The partial internal model is used
for the property and casualty business of the Group companies in
Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Romania, and for
calculating the risk of Austrian Group companies' real estate
investments. The Solvency II ratio calculated at the level of the
listed VIG group is in the area of 200 percent and therefore among
the leaders of internationally operating insurance groups.

Outlook for 2016

With regard to the future results development of Vienna Insurance
Group, it is expected that the current low-interest rate environment
will lead to another decline in the ordinary financial result in
2016. The Group aims to at least double its profit before taxes to up
to EUR 400 million in 2016 while maintaining its conservative
investment policy. In the medium term the Combined Ratio should
improve towards 95 percent.

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----------- [1]adjusted value 2014: EUR 6.0 billion

Further inquiry note:
VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP AG
Wiener Versicherung Gruppe
1010 Wien, Schottenring 30

Wolfgang Haas
Head of Group Communications & Marketing, Spokesperson of the Group
Tel.: +43 (0)50 390-21029
Fax: +43 (0)50 390 99-21029
E-Mail: wolfgang.haas@vig.com

Nina Higatzberger
Head of Investor Relations
Tel.: +43 (0)50 390-21920
Fax: +43 (0)50 390 99-21920
E-Mail: nina.higatzberger@vig.com

end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: Vienna Insurance Group
Schottenring 30
A-1010 Wien
phone: +43(0)50 390-21919
FAX: +43(0)50 390 99-23303
mail: investor.relations@vig.com
WWW: www.vig.com
sector: Insurance
ISIN: AT0000908504
indexes: WBI, ATX Prime, ATX
stockmarkets: official market: Wien, stock market: Prague Stock Exchange
language: English