The company has increased its gross premiums written mainly thanks to good sales results for the new individual insurance package, Nowa Perspektywa (New Perspectives).
Commercial Union Poland - Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń na Życie SA (Life Insurance)
The company has increased its gross premiums written mainly thanks to good sales results for the new individual insurance package, Nowa Perspektywa (New Perspectives). This is CU's flagship product and includes life insurance and a range of additional agreements (health insurance, accident insurance) for the whole family, as well as a long-term investment mechanism. During the first half of 2008 sales of investment policies through bancassurance channels had a significant effect on the increase in premiums written. The answer to the drop in interest in investment insurance with a one-off premium payment was to offer customers the structured products CU Gwarancja (CU Guarantee) and a new investment insurance product with regular contributions, Kapitalna Przyszłość (Capital Future). The low level of investment and income from investment and the low gross financial result are the result primarily of a significant drop in share prices on the Warsaw stock market, as a result of Poland being hit by the crisis on the world's financial markets. The company's strong capital position is shown by the fact that the solvency margin was covered using equity which rose by 215.3% by the end of 2008. The equity surplus stood at 554 million zlotys.
| Item* | 2007 (in thousand zlotys) | 2008 (in thousand zlotys) |
| Gross premiums written | 3 139 073 | 3 993 935 |
| Income from investments | 1 042 639 | 821 968 |
| Technical result | 365 876 | 429 566 |
| Net financial result | 448 540 | 397 350 |
| Investments | 14 158 823 | 12 397 87 |
*pre-audit figures
Commercial Union Poland - Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń Ogólnych SA (General Insurance)
In 2008 the company took more money in premiums than in the previous year both as a result of introducing motor insurance into the direct system and as a result of the increase in premiums in other business lines - insurance for businesses by around 20% and for individual customers (mainly home insurance policies) by around 40%. These results significantly exceed the 12% growth rate of the entire property insurance market for 2008. In its first full year on the market, CU Direct took 51.1 million zlotys in gross premiums from motor insurance. The negative technical and financial results are solely the result of expenditure on developing CU Direct. The equity capital of the company and its solvency rates significantly exceed the level required by the relevant legal regulations.
| Item* | 2007 (in thousand zlotys) | 2008 (in thousand zlotys) |
| Gross premiums written | 113 346 | 193 161 |
| Income from investments | 3 659 | 7 519 |
| Technical result | - 5 194 | - 42 686 |
| Net financial result | - 1 767 | - 28 469 |
| Investments | 166 165 | 168 628 |
* pre-audit figures
-ends-
Information:
Bohdan Białorucki
Telephone: (22) 557 43 41
E-mail: public_relations@cu.com.pl
Grzegorz Mathea
Telephone: (22) 557 43 70
E-mail: grzegorz_mathea@cu.com.pl
Notes to editors:
The Commercial Union Poland Group is part of the international Aviva group, the world's fifth and Great Britain's number one insurance organisation in terms of revenue. Worldwide, the Aviva group operates in 30 countries and serves 45 million customers, generating annual revenues of £50 billion, and manages assets valued at over £360 billion. For further information see: www.aviva.com/