Extending its reach further in
Central and Eastern Europe, composite insurer Vienna Insurance
Group (VIG) has established a new life insurer in Montenegro,
Wiener Städtische zivotno osiguranje Podgorica. The Austrian
insurer is now awaiting approval of its licence application which
is expected to be granted in the third quarter of 2010.
One of the smallest countries in
CEE, Montenegro became part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
together with Serbia in 1992. In 2003, the ties with Serbia were
loosened and in June 2006 Montenegro formally declare its
independence.
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VIG believes Montenegro, which has
a population of 670,000, “shows high development potential”.
VIG noted that in 2008 premiums per
capita in Montenegro were a mere €95 ($122). This equated to total
premium income of about $80m or 1.1% of the country’s 2008 GDP of
$6.99bn, as estimated by the US Central Intelligence Agency.
In the CEE, VIG already has units
in Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia,
Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania,
Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine.
