VIG Re targets European growth

Czech Republic-based VIG Re wants to target mutual insurers that share the same values for its expansion in continental Europe, CEO Johannes Hartmann, told Monte Carlo Today.

VIG Re has been operating primarily in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), but originally it was set up to optimise the reinsurance buying for the VIG Group based in Vienna, Austria.

“We facilitate certain group treaties but we also have a right of refusal for local cessions,” Hartmann said. “We are a market leader in CEE, our home territory.”

In CEE, VIG Re serves smaller cedants where it can leverage its local market know-how, Hartmann explained. “We run our operations at a very competitive administration cost ratio and we are outperforming the bigger players in the region,” he noted.

VIG Re now wants to expand into other continental European markets with a specific value proposition, he said. As part of the move, VIG Re is opening a branch office in Paris.

VIG is a mutual company and is looking to find cedants that appreciate its corporate culture and principles such as long-term commitment, sustainability, the absence of short-term profit orientation and solidarity, Hartmann explained.

“We have a significant market segment in Germany and France of mutual companies and public insurance companies, and they appreciate this kind of business attitude,” Hartmann noted.

As part of the expansion plan, VIG Re has decided to build up local capabilities with staff on the ground to explore the opportunities. VIG Re wants to grow in property/casualty in continental Europe including nat cat, motor, liability, engineering and marine but excluding specialty lines such as aviation and agribusiness.

“We don’t want to compete with the big players,” Hartmann said. “We have found our niche market.

“Our clients appreciate our concept,” he added, describing VIG Re’s target market as being less price-sensitive—other qualities such as sustainability, stability and credibility are more important.

Member of the VIG managing board Peter Thirring explained: “This strategy of gradual expansion based on the values of a mutual company should be done in a sustainable, continuous way.

“It’s part of our philosophy. We don’t want to enter one programme with very large capacity, but instead to expand in a diversified manner.”

Among the advantages of the expansion is that VIG Re can leverage the franchise with a strong capital base, Hartmann noted.

Thirring concurred: “VIG is fully committed to VIG Re. It is a strategic part of the group.”