Regional focus on Central and Eastern Europe
As a first mover, VIG braved the initial step into the eastern insurance markets around 30 years ago and gained access to an economic region which has subsequently developed in a remarkable manner.
Expansion Steps of Vienna Insurance Group
1990 Germany, Slovakia, the Czech Republic
1996 Hungary
1998 Poland
1999 Liechtenstein, Croatia, Italy
2001 Romania
2002 Bulgaria, Belarus
2003 Serbia
2004 Slovenia, Ukraine
2005 Georgia
2007 Turkey, Albania, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
2010 Montenegro
2011 Bosnia-Herzegovina
2014 Moldova
2019 Northern Europe
Core market: Austria
Vienna Insurance Group is the largest insurer in Austria, where it holds an excellent position with its group companies Wiener Städtische and Donau Versicherung. The strength shown in this core market since 1824 is one of the reasons for the successful realisation of Vienna Insurance Group's internationalisation strategy.
Major player in the CEE region
Vienna Insurance Group started its expansion in 1990, making it one of the first Western European insurance companies to expand into Central and Eastern Europe. Today the Group is one of the most important players in this region. Due to many years of experience and excellent knowledge of the markets, and to its expertise in all insurance matters, Vienna Insurance Group is optimally positioned to continue benefiting from future increases in the standard of living in the Central and Eastern Europe and from the accompanying increased need for insurance.
Central and Eastern Europe is an economic area with a future.
The Vienna Insurance Group has operations in Central and Eastern Europe, a region that offers the insurance industry significant opportunities for long-term growth.
VIG’s expansion into the East is based on a business potential primarily rooted in two factors:
- Insurance density (per capita premium payments) in Central and Eastern Europe is considerably below the Western European level.
- Growth rates of insurance markets in Central and Eastern Europe are significantly higher than those in Western Europe.
Economic region with potential for the future
Central and Eastern Europe remains an economic region with enormous potential for the future. The rising demand for life insurance products is illustrated by the continued growth of the insurance sector in this countries. The Vienna Insurance Group believes that the growth potential of this region will continue over the long term. Given its broad geographic representation and favoured position in Central and Eastern Europe, Vienna Insurance Group stands to profit significantly from the on-going process of convergence.
Top positions in the region
In many of its markets, Vienna Insurance Group is both number one overall and number one in the life and non-life insurance segments. Each individual Group company and every one of its around 25,000 employees has contributed to this major success. Hence, the Vienna Insurance Group is exploiting the growth potential in Cental and Eastern Europe in an optimal manner. The challenge of maintaining and further expanding this position as number 1, is a driving force and an objective for the future.
Expansion of the insurance business
The growth potential in VIG's markets opens up many opportunities for development of the company, especially opportunities for longer-term development. The Vienna Insurance Group has expanded its involvement in the region step by step over the past years. In the beginning, the main focus was on offering insurance services in the motor vehicle sector. In addition to motor vehicle insurance, household and homeowner’s insurance was also in strong demand.
In response to the increasing level of prosperity, the Vienna Insurance Group began to offer savings and investment products in the form of life insurance in addition to its basic policies. With this in mind, the Vienna Insurance Group strengthened its presence in the markets of the Central and Eastern Europe by acquiring the s Versicherung, specialising in life insurance, and thereby added to the strength of its existing distribution channels.