Uniqa expects flat turnover this year

Uniqa, a top ten insurer domestically, expects its turnover to stagnate this year at the level of 2009, of 497m RON, according to Alfred Vlcek, the company's vice-president. "I believe the general insurance market will drop by 6-8% this year, but I expect Uniqa to keep its gross underwritten premiums at the level of last year. We have many transporters in our portfolio and we've noticed their turnovers have started picking up, which is a good sign," Vlcek stated. He says that starting this year the company will try to balance its portfolio, in the sense of lifting the weight of corporate clients. "We're counting on the relationship we have with Austrian investors". At present, car insurance, mainly sold to individual clients, makes up 85% in Uniqa's portfolio. Vlcek says that the target for 2010 is to cut the weight of this segment to 80% and boost the weight of non-car insurance to 20%. Uniqa Asigurari is controlled by the Austrian group of the same name. The Austrians have recently entered the life insurance market as well, by turning the former farming insurance company Agras into Uniqa Asigurari de Viata.