ERGO and UniCredit start bancassurance sales in Central and Eastern European countries

ERGO and UniCredit start bancassurance sales in Central and Eastern European countries

Düsseldorf / Ljubljana, 19 November 2008. ERGO Insurance Group and UniCredit Group have started sales of ERGO insurance products in UniCredit bank subsidiaries in Slovenia. Operations in Slovakia, Hungary and Romania are scheduled to start during the first half of 2009. With the co-operation in Central and Eastern European countries (CEE), both Groups extend their long-term partnership to a dynamic growth region.

Thomas Schöllkopf, in charge of CEE operations on the Board of Management of ERGO International AG, said: "We are pleased that the successful co-operation with UniCredit is now being extended to Slovenia. Our customers will benefit from the combined strength of two partners: UniCredit as a renowned European bank and ERGO as one of the largest European Insurance Groups. Due to our long-term co-operation, we are able to offer reliable, high-quality products to our customers."

The Slovenian UniCredit branches will start with sales of unit-linked life insurance products which ideally complement traditional bank products. The product range will later be extended step-by-step. ERGO Zavarovalnica d. d. seated in Ljubljana will be the product provider for Slovenia.

Expansion to further countries

Bancassurance business operations in Slovakia , Hungary and Romania are scheduled to start during the first half of 2009. In Russia, ERGO's bancassurance activities already started in 2007.

The sales of insurance products via UniCredit subsidiaries are based on a framework agreement between UniCredit, ERGO and ERGO's parent company Munich Re which aims at the extension of the successful bancassurance co-operation in Germany, Austria and Poland to further growth markets in the CEE region. ERGO concentrates its bancassurance activities in Austria and the CEE region in its company ERGO Austria International AG seated in Vienna. The company plays a key role in the co-operation by providing central services such as accounting, actuarial support, controlling and IT via a service company for subsidiaries in the different countries.

The CEE countries represent one of the core regions in ERGO's international growth strategy, due to their strong economic growth and the improving living standards of their population which will lead to a rising demand for provision products. It is expected that bancassurance sales will become the most important sales channel for insurance products in the region.

For further information, please contact:

Dr. Claudia Wagner, Tel. +49/211/4937-2980 (ERGO Insurance Group)

Andreja Kovačič, Tel. +386/1/600 50 40 (ERGO Zavarovalnica d.d.)

About the ERGO Insurance Group

With premium income amounting to over € 17 billion, ERGO is one of the major insurance groups in Europe. Worldwide, ERGO is represented in over 30 countries, focussing on the regions of Europe and Asia. In Europe, ERGO is the No. 1 in the health and legal expenses insurance segments. Within her home market of Germany, ERGO is among the market leaders across all the different insurance segments. 34 million customers currently place their trust in the services, expertise and security provided by ERGO and its companies. In Germany, 15 million clients place their faith in the strong brands of D.A.S., DKV Deutsche Krankenversicherung, Hamburg-Mannheimer, KarstadtQuelle Insurance and Victoria. Over 50,000 people work full-time for the ERGO Group, either as salaried employees or as self-employed sales representatives. Majority shareholder with a share of 94.7% in ERGO is Munich Re, one of the worldwide leading risk carriers. Further up-to-date information on the ERGO Insurance Group can be found at www.ergo.com.

Further business operations of ERGO Insurance Group in the CEE region:

Hungary: D.A.S., legal expenses insurance, Victoria-Volksbanken, life and property/casualty insurance, Slovakia: D.A.S., legal expenses insurance, Victoria-Volksbanken, life and property/casualty insurance. Slovenia: Branch Office of Victoria-Volksbanken, life and property/casualty insurance. Austria: Bank Austria Creditanstalt Versicherungen AG, life and personal accident insurance, D.A.S., legal expenses insurance, Quelle Lebensversicherungen AG, life and personal accident insurance, Victoria-Volksbanken, life and property/casualty insurance.