The
individual companies' proprietary capital has further increased. Our competitive position has been
strengthened by external growth.
Dortmund/Hamburg. The
SIGNAL IDUNA Group can look back ata
stable business year - despite the crisis in the financial market. Thanks to
its safety-conscious capital investment policy, it was possible to increase the
proprietary capital with the insured persons in the Group by 4.1 per cent to
385.3 million euros (last year 370.3 million euros) with the 'SIGNAL Kranken' and by 4.6 per cent to 275.6 million euros
(last year 263.6 million euros) with the 'IDUNA Leben'.
Reinhold Schulte, the SIGNAL IDUNA Group's CEO, said on 17 June in Dortmund on
the occasion of this year'spress
conferencewith reference to the Group's
financial statement: "The SIGNAL IDUNA Group is based on solid foundations,
despite the financial and economic crisis". The SIGNAL IDUNA Group produced an
operative result, before tax, of approximately 600 million euros in the past
business year 2008 (in the previous year 816 million euros). The annual surplus
rose from 53.5 million euros in 2007 to over 60 million euros in 2008 -
includingdeducted
profit - it even surpassed the 92 million euro mark. Bearing the difficult
general conditions in mind, the board is satisfied with these results.
The Group continued with
its growth-oriented business policy successfully in 2008. It acquired the
DEURAG (Deutsche Rechtschutz-Versicherung AG), Wiesbaden, Germany, in November,
thus expanding its non-life insurance activities. This is how the SIGNAL IDUNA
Group came to become the eigth largest legal expenses insurance provider in
Germany.
The SIGNAL IDUNA is
continuing with its course of growth this year, too.The Deutscher Ring Krankenversicherungsverein a.G.,
Hamburg, Germany, has been a part of the coordinated SIGNAL IDUNA Group since 1
April 2009. Reinhold Schulte: "We want to strengthen our sales force and
competitive position in the health care market with this acquision".
The SIGNAL IDUNA Group sees
considerable opportunities for growth, particularly in the private health care
market. Reinhold Schulte said: "The health care fund has not solved any of the
statutory health care insurance's problems. It lost out from the word go and
had to be supported by tax money. Who else then does the government - or rather
the taxpayer - have to bail out? When looking at our statutory retirement and
statutory health care insurance, there is no way of getting round more self
dependency when it comes to our own provisions. It is the responsibility of our
political leaders to tell the citizens this publically".
The SIGNAL's and the
Deutscher Ring Krankenversicherung's positive sales results in the new business
year's first quarter show that the citizens have understood this message and
are prepared to make provisions for themselves privately in case of illness. In
this way, the SIGNAL Kranken's and the Deutscher Ring
Kranken's new business and business in force has risen by 39 and 49 per
cent respectively.
The
SIGNAL IDUNA Group's premium income increased in 2008 by 2.6 per cent to 4.6
billion euros.
The gross expenditure for insurance claims rose over
this past business year with its 7.8 per cent much more than in the previous
year. Back then, the growth increment was 1.1 per cent. The total sum of this
expenditure was 4.1 billion euros as of 31.12.2008.
The cost-reduction
programme was successfully continued in 2008. The Group's costs could be
reduced by 22.4 million euros (in 2007 it was 35 million euros).
The business in force rose by approximately 600,000 to
a total of approximately 11.5 million contracts/persons.
The SIGNAL IDUNA Group's
assets (including those of its finacial subsidiaries) grew in 2008 by
approximately 600 million euros to approximately 40.2 billion euros.
The worldwide financial
crisis hit the central and east European markets, in which the SIGNAL is
present, particularly hard. The local currency in each case, especially in Poland and Hungary, were devaluated againstthe euro.
This caused the contribution these companies made to the SIGNAL IDUNA Group to
be lower than in previous years.
The average number of
employees (including our self-employed outside sales staff and our trainees)
remained essentially constant compared to last year. On
31.12.2008 there were 11,762 (last year 11,734).
Foreign
countries:
SIGNAL Versicherung AG,
Budapest, Hungary
SIGNAL IDUNA Polen Versicherung
AG, Warsaw
SIGNAL IDUNA Polen
Lebensversicherung AG, Warsaw
SIGNAL IDUNA Versicherung AG,
Bucharest, Romania
SIGNAL IDUNA Rückversicherungs AG Zug, Switzerland
SIGNAL Versicherung AG, Budapest, Hungary
The
SIGNAL Versicherung AG, Budapest,
was established in 1993 and belongs, witha primium income growth of 1.1 per cent (6.2 per cent in local currency)
to 49.8 million euros in 2008, to one of the few growing companies in the
market. This growth is primarily to be seen in the life assurance and motor
insurance sectors. A total of over 50,000 new clients were acquired across all
our business units.
The SIGNAL Versicherung AG, Budapest, made a profite - like in preceding
years - despite dislocations in the financial markets.
SIGNAL IDUNA Polen Versicherung AG, Warsaw
SIGNAL
IDUNA Polen Lebensversicherung AG, Warsaw
The SIGNAL IDUNA
Group's Polish subsidiaries achieved a gross booked primium income of
approximately 22 million euros in the business year 2008. This corresponds to a
growth of two per cent in local currency.
Private health care
and travel insurance were mainly responsible
for this growth.
SIGNAL IDUNA has the
largest network of medical services in existence at its disposal with more than
600 medical centres and clinics under contract.
Based on this, our
leading market position in the private health care insurance market is going to
expand with our product innovations.
The SIGNAL IDUNA
consolidated its market leadership in the travel insurance business with a
growth in premium incomeof 19 per cent.
A total of approximately 2.5 million clients are currently insured with the
SIGNAL IDUNA in Poland.
The SIGNAL IDUNA is pursuing its goal for 2009 in Poland by
continuing to expand its special strength in the private health careand travel insurance markets
SIGNAL IDUNA Versicherung AG, Bucharest,
Romania
The SIGNAL IDUNA
Versicherung AG, Bucharest,
started its sales operations in the Romanian market
in December 2008.
Its key focus is private health care insurance. A
nationwide network of 144 medical facilities has been set up in this country in
42 towns. Approximately 70 intermediaries have been selling life assurance,
health care and accident insurance to date from four branches.
SIGNAL IDUNA Rückversicherungs AG, Zug, Switzerland
Die SIGNAL IDUNA
Rückversicherungs AG produced a turnover of 88 million euros in its fifth year
of business.
Reinhold Schulte, the SIGNAL IDUNA's CEO, said: "This
pleasant development shows we have even more excellent opportunities here".
overview