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emphasis on large corporations, as well as offering personal and life insurance. Omniasig and its
subsidiaries have an effective and developed sales network consisting of more than 300 sales
locations.
Asigurarea Romaneasca – Asirom. S.A.
After acquiring a 30% share of S.C. Asigurarea Romaneasca – Asirom. S.A. (Asirom) in July
2007, in November of that year the Vienna Insurance Group purchased an additional 20.2%, making it
the majority owner of Asirom. As Asirom is a listed company, the Vienna Insurance Group submitted a
compulsory offer to the remaining stockholders. Additional purchases brought its share up to 98.5%.
In 1999, the former state insurance company was privatized and is among the top three insurance
companies in the country today (Source: Insurance Profile, November 2007 issue).
The Rest of Europe
In 2007, the Vienna Insurance Group recorded gross premiums written of EUR 383.8 million in
the other CEE markets in which it operated with its subsidiaries. There has been strong growth in
recent years in these CEE markets as well. The other CEE markets in which the Vienna Insurance
Group operates recorded a moderate loss ratio of 58.9% and a cost ratio of 43.9% in fiscal year 2007.
Influenced by business expansion, net investment income in the other CEE markets increased by
163.2%. However, the anticipated growth in the insurance industry depends on the growth of the
respective national economies. The same is true of the possibility of achieving an insurance density
comparable to that existing in the EU-15 countries.
The following section describes the business operations of the Vienna Insurance Group in these
CEE markets.
Albania
The Vienna Insurance Group entered the Albanian insurance market in September 2007. TBIH
Financial Services Group N.V., in which the Vienna Insurance Group holds a majority stake, acquired
75% of Sigma Sh.a., based in Tirana, which was founded in 1999 and operates in the property
insurance area. Sigma has a subsidiary in Macedonia and a branch in Kosovo. Sigma was the first
private insurance company in Albania and is the third largest insurer in the country today with a focus
on motor insurance. The Albanian insurance market has a very high growth potential due to the very
small insurance density there. Life insurance was not sold there until 1997, and the insurance market
is dominated by the non-life classes.
Bulgaria
The Vienna Insurance Group acquired interests in the two Bulgarian companies Bulgarski Imoti
Sachversicherungsgesellschaft AG (Bulgarski Imoti Non-Life) and Bulgarski Imoti Lebensversicherungsgesllschaft
AG (Bulgarski Imoti Life) in 2002. Bulstrad Insurance & Reinsurance Plc. and Bulstrad
Life Insurance Joint-Stock Company have also been part of the Vienna Insurance Group since 2006
as a result of the acquisition of a majority stake in TBIH Financial Services Group N.V. Bulstrad Non-
Life is the largest non-life insurance company on the Bulgarian insurance market and has over
400 employees and 72 offices in the country. As a diversified insurance company with a welldeveloped
network of offices, the Vienna Insurance Group is well positioned in the Bulgarian insurance
market with its dynamic character. In the first three quarters of 2007, the market share of the
Bulgarian companies of the Vienna Insurance Group was 18.1%, as measured by gross premiums
written, resulting in a first place ranking in the market (Source: Bulgarian Insurance Association
Statistics). There is a large amount of corporate business with Austrian customers in particular and
the Vienna Insurance Group has plans for further expansion. The collaboration that began in 2003
with the subsidiary of Hypo Vereinsbank continues to be important for the Bulgarian life insurance
business. The termination of the cooperation with the Raiffeisen Group in 2006 resulted in a
temporary decline in premiums. In 2005, Wiener Städtische AG reacquired the 26% share that HUK
Coburg had acquired in each of the companies in 2003.
In the first three quarters of 2007, gross written premiums in the Bulgarian insurance market
increased 20.4% (Q1-3 2006: 12.9%), with gross written premiums increasing by 18.7% in the non-life
area (Q1-3 2006: 10.8%) and 30.1% in the life area (Q1-3 2006: 28.0%). In comparison, the Bulgarian
subsidiaries of the Vienna Insurance Group recorded growth of 28.4% in total premiums (Q1-3 2006:
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