One company brings half of VIG's turnover and income

Austria's Vienna Insurance (VIG) group, leader of the Romanian insurance market, with four companies in its portfolio, last year derived 24.2m-euro gross income, down 58% from 2008, according to the annual report the group published yesterday. Half the group's profit is brought by Omniasig, whose gross profit stood at 12.5m euros in 2009. Vienna Insurance also holds Asirom, BCR Asigurari and BCR Viata insurers, among the biggest players on the insurance market. "The profit drop came amid the sale of Unita insurer, with the sale effect included in the gross income of the previous year," reads VIG report. At present, VIG controls almost 30% of the insurance market, with 606.7m-euro underwritten premiums, slightly down from 2008, when underwritten premiums reached 608.2m euros. VIG turnover last year fell on the segment of general insurance, but life insurance underwritten premiums rose. Romanian operations bring around 7.6% of the group's total gross underwritten premiums.