Vienna Insurance Group posts profit of 511 million Euro, up by 48 percent in 2021

Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) published its reports for the 2021 financial year. The company recorded a premium volume of 11 billion Euro (+5.5 percent), a profit before taxes of EUR 511 million (+47.8 percent) and a combined ratio of 94.2 percent (-0.8 percentage points).

“A look at our key figures shows the high resilience of our Group and that we have dealt with the major challenges facing the industry in good time, especially with digitalisation. This has proved to be a key instrument for maintaining business operations and, above all, customer service during the pandemic”, explains CEO Elisabeth Stadler. 

As at 31 December 2021, the VIG Group had own funds of roughly EUR 10.3 billion, approx. 85 percent of which was in the highest quality category (tier 1). The solvency capital requirement is approx. EUR 4.1 billion. 

The Group objectives set out in the current “VIG 25” strategic programme include, for the first time, ESG-related projects to benefit society, customers and employees. “We are not talking here about introducing sustainability for the first time, but about continuing consistently down the path that has already been taken. Since its origins in the 19th century, our Group has pursued social causes and sustainable business practices as well as profitable growth”, explains Elisabeth Stadler. 

The VIG Group’’s sustainability strategy aims to promote investments in renewable energy and green bonds, as well as to phase out its involvement in the coal sector. The Sustainability Report shows a total green bond volume of EUR 436 million at the end of 2021. This represents an increase of more than 83 percent compared to the previous year. The share of green bonds has thus increased more than six-fold since 2018, when they accounted for EUR 70 million. As part of its climate change strategy, the VIG Group decided to withdraw from the coal sector as early as 2019. The VIG Group’s climate change strategy commits it not to take on new insurance for companies in the coal sector. Since May 2019, no new insurance has been issued for coal-mining or coal-fired power plant projects. Existing policies in this sector will be phased out. In 2021, coal risks among corporate customers were reduced by 74 percent compared to 2019.