Romania, fourth largest market for Austria's VIG

Romania is the fourth largest market for Austrian group Vienna Insurance (VIG), only behind Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, after the Austrians have gradually built up a solid position domestically, through multiple acquisitions. The group operates on 16 markets. VIG's gross underwritten premiums domestically last year reached 606.7m euros, below the level of Slovakia, 628.4m euros, the Czech Republic, 1,603m euros and Austria, 3,874m euros. Romanian turnover exceeds, though, that of Poland, a country twice as big as Romania, where underwritten premiums stood at 548m euros last year. Domestically, VIG is the leading group on the insurance market, while Allianz-Tiriac, an insurer controlled by Germany's Allianz and businessman Ion Tiriac, is the biggest company on the market. VIG owns insurers Omniasig, Asirom, BCR Asigurari and BCR Viata, and at the end of last year sold small company Omniasig Life to French group AXA.