UNIQA Insurance Group expands its presence in Eastern Europe
UNIQA Insurance Group expands its network in Eastern and Central Europe. As part of this strategy, the Austrian insurer announced the acquisition of several subsidiaries of AXA Group, whose head office is in France. It is known that UNIQA will own a number of institutions located in Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Thanks to this transaction about 5 million new clients will be taken over by the Austrian company. It will also allow earning more than 800 million euros.
The objects of acquisition will be risk business and life insurance companies, investment organizations and pension funds. UNIQA also plans to buy service companies that belong to the AXA Group network.
According to UNIQA representatives, the choice fell on the French insurance group due to its similar strategy of business development and service provision. The companies have the same view on the main points – tools for profit increase and correctly composed portfolio of offered products.
UNIQA management is confident that the purchase of these assets in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia is a sensible investment in the future of business. The expansion will allow entering new markets, strengthening positions and improving the level of service for clients.
These countries were chosen by analysts for a reason. According to their forecasts, in 2020-2021, the insurance segment of Austria will grow by about 1.5%, while Poland will show a jump of more than 6.2%, the Czech market will increase by 6.8% and Slovakia – by 2.7%.
UNIQA Insurance Group ranks 5th among insurance companies in Poland, with about 1.5 million customers using its services. In the Czech Republic, the company is also the fifth on the market with 800 thousand people. The Slovak customer base amounts to 750 thousand, which makes UNIQA the fourth among the segment participants.
The company from Austria notes that the AXA Group has created excellent conditions for the development of companies – there is a properly structured management, a logical structure for the implementation of business processes. The product portfolio has an almost ideal proportion – the share of life insurance is 35%, and services in the property business – 65%.
The procedure of checking the legality of the deal is now underway. The European regulators must give their approval in case the specifics of the purchase do not threaten the market and do not violate competition rules. All securities are expected to be signed by the end of this year.
AXA Group is also confident that cooperation with a well-known Austrian insurer will benefit both parties. Exchange of experience is an important factor in business development, and to miss such a chance would be a mistake.