Vienna Insurance Group sees sustainability as an important part of its strategic orientation

Alina Oprea

20 April, 2023 at 8:26 AM

The motto of this year's Vienna Insurance Group Annual Report is “More growth” and the results achieved underline the growth strategy pursued by the Group. The motto of the Sustainability Report is “More solidarity” and refers to activities like the Group's intense social involvement with the people of Ukraine and the colleagues of VIG's three Ukrainian companies owing to the war. For example, the VIG management established the VIG Family Fund. Thanks to the base allocation, as well as further contributions from VIG companies and directly from employees, a sum of around €7 million has been raised to support the medium- and long-term rebuilding efforts of the families of the VIG companies in Ukraine that have been affected. VIG sees sustainability as an important part of its strategic orientation.

“Strategic considerations can currently only become meaningful if sustainability is taken into account”, explains Elisabeth Stadler, CEO of Vienna Insurance Group.

She deems insurance companies to be particularly involved in sustainability for two reasons. Firstly, this is due to the noticeable consequences of global warming, which is leading to increased damage from adverse weather events and natural disasters.

“For us as an insurance company, this necessitates making our risk expertise available to society. We facilitate adaptation to the consequences of climate change by providing insurance cover and creating incentives for customers to better prepare themselves for these consequences”, says Elisabeth Stadler. Secondly, since they manage large amounts of capital on behalf of their customers, insurance companies are among the most important investors in a national economy. “We support social and green causes by investing in ventures like solar and wind farms, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing projects, or in green mobility”, explains Elisabeth Stadler.

At €12.6 billion, the premium volume in 2022 was 14.1% higher than in the previous year. Profit before taxes was €562 million, which was 10% higher than in 2021. Profit after taxes was €466 million, constituting a 24% improvement on the previous year. At 94.9%, the combined ratio was in the target range of 95%. At €797 million, the financial result was up 26% on the value for 2021. The Group's solvency ratio of 280% (including transitional measures) at the end of 2022 underscores the exceptionally strong capital position of VIG Insurance Group and thus the high resilience of the business model.