Key messages
In an increasingly interconnected global economy, the international expansion of financial institutions has become a key strategic priority. Austrian insurance groups are no exception, having significantly extended their operations beyond national borders over the past decades. This development has been driven by a combination of market saturation in the home market, growth opportunities in emerging markets — particularly in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) — and the pursuit of diversification.
Total premium volume in foreign markets by Austrian insurance groups further increased to 14,299 million EUR (+10.7%), exceeding premiums of 11,318 million EUR written in Austria. Key markets from a group supervisory perspective regarding their premiums contribution to foreign insurance business based on data of year-end 2025 are Czechia, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Turkiye and Slovakia. This focus will shift in the coming years, as Austria’s by far largest internationally active insurance group, Vienna Insurance Group, has significantly broadened its geographical footprint in 2026. Additionally, the importance from a local perspective is also significant due to the high market shares of Austrian insurance groups in many other countries in CESEE, which makes close cooperation with National Competent Authorities (NCAs) in Supervisory Colleges essential for effective group supervision.
This analysis explores the structure, performance, and strategic importance of the foreign business activities of Austrian insurance groups. The findings provide insights for policymakers, investors, industry analysts, and academic researchers who seek to better understand the dynamics and implications of Austrian insurers’ international engagement.
Five insurance groups headquartered in Austria (GRAWE, Merkur, UNIQA, Vienna Insurance Group (VIG), Wüstenrot) are active on foreign insurance markets via insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries. At year-end 2025, the scope of Austrian insurance groups included 26 countries including Austria. By number of undertakings in the group, the largest group is VIG (45 undertakings), followed by GRAWE (21 undertakings) and UNIQA (20 undertakings). Merkur has 5 and Wüstenrot 2 undertakings.
For a more structured overview, FMA divides the scope of international activity into five geographical segments: Austria (AT), Central Europe (CE), Southeastern Europe (SEE), Eastern Europe (EE) and Western Europe (WE). The aim of this allocation is to achieve a more homogeneous grouping of insurance markets, taking various criteria into account (e.g. EEA-countries, macroeconomic factors, insurance markets’ level of maturity).
Not all groups are represented in each geographical segment, but overall, there is a clear focus on the CE and SEE region, where 8,246 million EUR and 2,573 million EUR of the foreign premium volume is generated, respectively. 1,239 million EUR are written in the EE region and 2,240 million EUR in the WE region (Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein).
| Number of undertakings | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance undertakings | Austria | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Foreign markets | 92 | 86 | 88 | 88 | 84 | 79 | |
| Reinsurance undertakings | Austria | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Foreign markets | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Insurance and reinsurance undertakings | 105 | 99 | 102 | 102 | 98 | 93 | |
| Source: FMA Solvency II reporting | |||||||
In 2025, the overall number of undertakings by Austrian insurance groups declined by 5 to 93.
Following the sale of its stake in the SIGAL UNIQA Group in 2025, UNIQA has exited the insurance markets in Albania (-2), Kosovo (-2) and North Macedonia (-2). In turn, GRAWE acquired 1 further insurance undertaking in Cyprus in 2025.
In 2026, the scope of the foreign insurance business is expected to shift significantly due to the acquisition of the Nürnberger insurance group in Germany by VIG, which has already received all regulatory approvals. Furthermore, VIG has received approvals for closing the acquisition of Moldasig insurance in Moldova, where it will become market leader in 2026. Furthermore, in February 2026, GRAWE entered the Armenian insurance market through the acquisition of a majority stake in LIGA Insurance, one of the country’s leading insurance companies. As a result, Armenia has become a new foreign market in which Austrian insurance groups operate through a local subsidiary.
To thoroughly analyse the foreign insurance business activities, it’s essential to consider the macroeconomic conditions in the countries where they operate. Real GDP growth, inflation, and unemployment are major factors affecting the potential growth and profitability of insurance markets. Among others, they determine the ability and willingness of individuals, households and companies to purchase insurance coverage. This includes protection for their belongings (motor, property & causality insurance), as well as saving and investing in long-term insurance products which provide financial security in old age and protection against related life and health risks.
In 2025, GDP growth was lower than the previous year in the majority of CESEE countries. The unweighted average real GDP growth rate was highest in the EE region with 3.3%, followed by SEE with 2.6% and CE with 1.9%. The highest growth rates were recorded in Georgia with 7.5%, followed by Cyprus with 3.8% and Albania with 3.8%. There were no countries with negative growth rates.
In the segment Western Europe, Switzerland and Germany showed growth rates of 1.3% and 0.2%, respectively. In Austria, real GDP growth was 0.6%.
In 2025, inflation increased in the majority of CESEE countries.
The unweighted average inflation rate was highest in the EE region with 13.2%, followed by CE with 3.7% and SEE with 3.6%. Turkiye is still an outlier with a very high inflation rate of 34.9% in 2025. Ukraine and Moldova recorded comparatively high inflation rates in 2025 in the CESEE region with 12.7% and 7.8%, respectively.
In the segment Western Europe, Germany and Switzerland showed inflation rates of 2.3% and 0.1%, respectively. In Austria the inflation rate was 3.6%.
In 2025, unemployment rates decreased in the majority of CESEE countries. The unweighted average unemployment rate was highest in the SEE region with 8.0%, followed by EE with 6.3% and CE with 5.3% The highest unemployment rates were recorded in Montenegro with 13.6%, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina with 12.2% and Georgia with 12.1%.
The lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Moldova with 1.5%, followed by Czechia with 2.8% and Poland with 3.1%.
Insurance markets relevant for Austrian insurance groups differ significantly regarding size and level of maturity. The indicators used to assess the level of maturity are insurance penetration (i.e., premiums in % of GDP) and insurance density (i.e., premiums per capita). The insurance market size (illustrated by the size of the bubbles) is measured on the basis of gross written premiums.
Countries located in the top right corner of the chart can be considered as more developed insurance markets. This typically implies a wider range of insurance covers purchased by customers in non-life business, expanding to motor, accident and property and casualty insurance. Also, a higher maturity often goes along with a bigger life insurance market, which is dependent on individuals’ ability to save and invest. Overall, these markets provide a higher potential for risk diversification and profitability of insurance business. Countries in the lower left area of the chart show more potential with regards to the development of their insurance markets. In countries with a low level of insurance maturity, typically, (compulsory) motor third-party liability insurance is the largest business area for insurance companies. The protection gap with regards to risks such as natural catastrophes (e.g., floods, earthquakes) is therefore higher in these countries. These markets provide higher growth potential and offer opportunities for the expansion of insurance business.
Regarding market size, Poland is the biggest market of the CE-region with a size of 21,350 million EUR gross written premiums, followed by Czechia with 10,386 million EUR and Hungary with 4,718 million EUR. The biggest markets in the SEE-segment are Romania with a size of 4,242 million EUR and Bulgaria with 4,102 million EUR, followed by Croatia with 2,062 million EUR. The EE-segment is dominated by the insurance markets of Turkiye with 24,277 million EUR, followed by Ukraine with 1,484 million EUR.
A clear difference in the maturity level, as measured by insurance density, can be observed between the CE and the EE segment. While CE countries show an insurance density above 410 EUR, this indicator is below 290 EUR in EE-countries and also in some of the SEE-countries. A remarkable heterogeneity can be seen in the insurance penetration within the SEE-segment: Albania records an insurance penetration of 1.1%, while this indicator reaches 3.5% in Bulgaria.
Outliers in all CESEE segments are Austria and Cyprus and Germany and Liechtenstein and Slovenia and Switzerland. In Austria, the insurance density is 2,636 EUR and the insurance penetration 4.7%. In Cyprus, the insurance density is 1,176 EUR and the insurance penetration 4.4%.
The segment Western Europe (Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland) and Austria are not shown in the graph, as they are still significantly more mature insurance markets. Germany has an insurance penetration of 8.4% paired with an insurance density of 4,513 EUR. Switzerland has an insurance penetration of 13.7% paired with an insurance density of 13,902 EUR. Liechtenstein represents an outlier for both measures with 62.2% and 124,764 EUR. In Austria, the insurance penetration is at 4.7% and the insurance density at 2,636 EUR.
Information on market shares of Austrian insurance groups for EEA-countries is calculated from national Solvency II-reporting and publicly available insurance statistics by EIOPA (market shares in terms of net written premiums).
There are 4 countries with aggregated market shares of Austrian insurance groups greater or equal to 30%: Czechia, Slovakia, Latvia and Romania. Czechia ranks first with an aggregated market share of 40.9%, followed by Slovakia with 40.3% and Latvia with 35.1%.
In most countries, the high market shares are driven by VIG’s strong market positions. The highest market shares in the EEA-area held by VIG are 36.7% in Slovakia, 35.1% in Latvia and 31.9% in Czechia.
Regarding market positions in non-EEA countries, no fully consistent information is available. However, Austrian insurance groups hold strong positions in several non-EEA markets, particularly in the life insurance sector. According Xprimm Insurance Report Full Year 2025, they have a leading market position in the life insurance market in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Moldova, and Serbia and are among the top five in Albania, Turkiye, North Macedonia, Georgia, and Ukraine. In non-life insurance, Austrian insurance groups also rank among the top five in Georgia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Moldova, and North Macedonia.
Data on profitability are aggregated numbers taken out of solo accounts and have therefore not been adjusted for dividends, intra-group transactions or other consolidation effects. Thus, these numbers cannot be compared to performance figures of the consolidated financial statements of the groups.
However, the indicator “Profit-Premium-Margin” (PPM) defined as the ratio of profit to net written premiums provides insights into the profitability of the companies from an aggregated perspective.
The average Profit-Premium-Margin shows how the profitability of domestic business has developed compared to foreign business. Since 2022, there has been a steady increase in profitability in foreign markets, while higher volatility has been observed in the domestic market.
The average PPM was higher for domestic business than for foreign business in 2025. In total, Austrian insurance groups achieved an aggregated net profit of 3,010 million EUR in 2025. This means an increase of 28.3% compared to the previous year.
Austrian insurance groups differ considerably regarding the size and the scale of contribution of foreign business.
| Net written premiums (in million EUR) | GRAWE | Merkur | UNIQA | VIG | Wüstenrot | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance undertakings | Austria | 832 | 867 | 3,731 | 5,426 | 449 | 11,305 |
| Foreign markets | 628 | 108 | 2,350 | 8,581 | 72 | 11,739 | |
| Reinsurance undertakings | Austria | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Foreign markets | 7 | 0 | 1,988 | 564 | 0 | 2,559 | |
| Insurance and reinsurance undertakings | 1,468 | 975 | 8,083 | 14,571 | 521 | 25,617 | |
| Source: FMA Solvency II reporting | |||||||
By a wide margin, the largest group – measured by premium volume – is VIG, with UNIQA in second place. Both groups generate more than half of their premium income in foreign markets. Third place is GRAWE. Merkur and Wüstenrot are significantly smaller, with premium volumes of less than 1,000 million EUR, and derive the majority of their business from the domestic market.
Except for GRAWE, all Austrian insurance groups make use of LTG and/or transitional measures for the calculation of technical provisions in life insurance (UNIQA, VIG, Merkur, Wüstenrot) for some of their undertakings. Moreover, UNIQA and VIG make use of partial internal models.
At year-end 2025, solvency ratios of all Austrian insurance groups were above 240.0%. Merkur and VIG show a noticeable increase in the solvency ratio from 2024 to 2025, while for the other groups the solvency ratio remains at a stable level.
In the following part of the report, data, figures and ratios are provided for each of the five Austrian groups separately (in alphabetical order).
GRAWE is focusing on Southeastern Europe but also obtains subsidiaries in Eastern Europe. The foreign premium share of GRAWE is 43.3%.
Besides Austria, the top 3 most important countries in terms of premiums are Romania, followed by Slovenia and Croatia.
The highest growth rates were recorded in Romania (98.9%), Cyprus (91.2%), Slovenia (27.2%) and Moldova (23.8%).
In 2025, foreign insurance business of GRAWE grew while domestic business decreased, leading to an increased foreign insurance business share of 43.3% compared to last year’s 37.2%.
Total own funds eligible to cover the Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR) include own funds of other financial sectors.
Total own funds of GRAWE eligible to cover the group SCR amounted to 4,177 million in 2025. About 98.7% of total eligible own funds classify as Tier 1 capital (Tier 1-restricted and Tier 1-unrestricted). 1.3% are classified as Tier 2. In the case of GRAWE Group’s Tier 2 capital, this is supplementary capital of the banking group that is counted as eligible own funds from other financial sectors. The own funds of GRAWE insurance group, therefore, consist exclusively of Tier 1 capital.
The Solvency Capital Requirement of GRAWE was 1,683 million EUR. In relation to the eligible own funds, this results in a Group Solvency Ratio of 248.2%.
Merkur is focusing on Southeastern Europe, with subsidiaries in Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia. The foreign premium share of Merkur is 11.1%.
The highest growth rates was recorded in Serbia (13.8%).
In 2025, foreign insurance business of Merkur grew less strongly than domestic business, leading to a decreased foreign insurance business share of 11.1% compared to last year’s 11.4%.
Total own funds eligible to cover the Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR) include own funds of other financial sectors.
Total own funds of Merkur eligible to cover the group SCR amounted to 1,331 million in 2025. 100.0% of total eligible own funds classify as Tier 1 capital (Tier 1-restricted and Tier 1-unrestricted).
The Solvency Capital Requirement of Merkur was 463 million EUR. In relation to the eligible own funds, this results in a Group Solvency Ratio of 287.7%.
UNIQA generates business in all CESEE segments, but Central Europe is its dominant geographical focus. In Western Europe, it obtains one reinsurance company in Switzerland and one insurance company in Liechtenstein. The foreign premium share of UNIQA is 53.7%.
Besides Austria, the top 3 most important countries in terms of premiums are Switzerland, followed by Poland and Czechia.
The highest growth rates were recorded in Liechtenstein (26.3%), Hungary (20.4%), Montenegro (19.6%) and Croatia (19.5%).
In 2025, foreign insurance business of UNIQA grew more strongly than domestic business, leading to an increased foreign insurance business share of 53.7% compared to last year’s 52.7%.
Total own funds eligible to cover the group SCR amounted to 7,212 million in 2025. About 90.5% of total eligible own funds classify as Tier 1 capital (Tier 1-restricted and Tier 1-unrestricted). 9.3% are classified as Tier 2 and 0.3% are classified as Tier 3.
The Solvency Capital Requirement of UNIQA was 2,626 million EUR. In relation to the eligible own funds, this results in a Group Solvency Ratio of 274.6%.
VIG is the biggest Austrian insurance group and generates business in all geographical segments in CESEE, as well as in Germany and Liechtenstein. The foreign premium share of VIG is 62.8%.
Besides Austria, the top 3 most important countries in terms of premiums are Czechia, followed by Poland and Turkiye.
The highest growth rates were recorded in Georgia (49.5%), Croatia (38.3%), Moldova (37.9%) and Montenegro (37.4%).
In 2025, foreign insurance business of VIG grew more strongly than domestic business, leading to an increased foreign insurance business share of 62.8% compared to last year’s 61.8%.
Total own funds eligible to cover the group SCR amounted to 11,995 million in 2025. About 87.7% of total eligible own funds classify as Tier 1 capital (Tier 1-restricted and Tier 1-unrestricted). 11.2% are classified as Tier 2 and 1.1% are classified as Tier 3.
The Solvency Capital Requirement of VIG was 4,058 million EUR. In relation to the eligible own funds, this results in a Group Solvency Ratio of 295.6%.
The foreign insurance business of Wüstenrot insurance group entirely relies on its subsidiary in Slovakia. The foreign premium share of Wüstenrot is 13.8%.
In 2025, foreign insurance business of Wüstenrot grew more strongly than domestic business, leading to an increased foreign insurance business share of 13.8% compared to last year’s 12.2%.
Total own funds eligible to cover the Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR) include own funds of other financial sectors.
Total own funds of Wüstenrot eligible to cover the group SCR amounted to 1,214 million in 2025. About 93.3% of total eligible own funds classify as Tier 1 capital (Tier 1-restricted and Tier 1-unrestricted). 6.6% are classified as Tier 2 and 0.1% are classified as Tier 3.
The Solvency Capital Requirement of Wüstenrot was 359 million EUR. In relation to the eligible own funds, this results in a Group Solvency Ratio of 337.6%.