OREANDA-NEWS. September 02, 2008. Premiums up 10 percent in first half year 2008 / Market entry in Slovenia / Representative office of OJSC ROSNO in Azerbaijan, reported the press-centre of ROSNO.

Allianz continues its business growth in New Europe1. By the end of the first half of 2008, premium volume rose by 10.5 percent to 2.1 billion euros. Compared to the second quarter of 2007, Allianz companies in the region grew their premium income by 14.3 percent to more than 1 billion euros. These growth rates enabled Allianz to maintain its strong market position in this strategically important growth region, despite unfavorable economic environment.

"Although we faced a difficult market, we were able to grow premiums in the first half of 2008. This is a clear sign of trust from our customers, reflecting the results of our efforts to develop the multi-channel sales approach in the region. We continue to perfect our services with a continually refining customer focused approach," said Werner Zedelius, Member of the Board of Allianz SE responsible for growth markets.

Life and Health Insurance

The life and health business recorded statutory premiums of 479 million euros under the national accounting standards (NAS). On a year on year basis, premiums declined by 21 percent, mainly influenced by the reduced sales volume of our banking partner PEKAO in Poland.

Excluding this effect, premium income in the region increased by 12.2 percent. Compared to the Q2 2007, Allianz companies in New Europe increased statutory premiums by 3.72 percent to 234 million euros. In line with the decrease in premiums, operating profit in the life and health business declined by 22 percent to 28 million euros as compared to the first half of 2007.

Of particular note, Allianz in Hungary continued its course of strong growth in the first half year 2008 and increased its premium income by 69.6 percent to 95 million euros. Also noteworthy was the development of the life insurance business in Slovakia, where premiums increased by 15 percent to 145 million euros. As in the previous case, this growth resulted primarily from the sales of investment-linked products.

Property and Casualty Insurance

Gross premiums written in the property and casualty business increased in the first six months of 2008 by more than 21 percent to 1.6 billion euros. Premiums in the second quarter 2008 rose by twelve percent to 781 million euros, as compared to the same quarter in 2007.Operating profit in the Property and Casualty business was above plan, but declined by 9.8 percent to 129 million euros, driven mainly by an increase in claims events that affected the entire market.

In the reviewed period, Allianz companies in Russia collected premium of 486 million euros.

The main driver for growth in the first six months of 2008 was Poland. Allianz Poland grew its premium volume by 25 percent to 227 million euros. The main factor for this positive development was the motor insurance business.

Expanding Presence
Allianz is implementing a number of additional initiatives in the region in order to secure profitable growth of its business and expand its market presence. The majority of these initiatives are based on the changing needs of customers, who are increasingly looking for one strong partner for their financial planning needs.

"As part of our Customer Focus Initiative we are continually looking for ways to become closer to our clients and offer as complete a product portfolio as possible through a broad sales network. As such, we have increased our presence in the direct insurance business with which we are now actively developing in four countries in New Europe," commented Dr. Klaus Junker, regional CEO for Allianz New Europe on the positive development of the direct sales in the region.

In May 2008, Allianz entered the Slovenian market with the opening of a branch office in Ljubljana. The company plans to play an active part in the future development of this important national market. The April opening of the ROSNO representative office in Baku indicates that Allianz is also looking to expand into the Azerbaijan market.

1 Allianz operates in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. Effective February 21, 2007, Allianz consolidated ROSNO, effective May 21, 2007, Progress-Garant was consolidated for the first time.

2 Internal growth (adjusted for F/X and consolidation effects).