UNIQA relies on prevention and telemedicine

The largest domestic health insurer already relies heavily on prevention and telemedicine and wants to invest even more. The healthcare provider Mavie is now offering test kits on a broad basis through the drugstore chain Bipa, coupled with telemedicine advice. Brandstetter expects that the need for telemedicine in Austria will increase sharply in the next few years. The UNIQA CEO cites the shortage of doctors and the aging population as reasons. Telemedicine cannot replace the doctor, “but we need good control of patient flows. So that not everyone goes to the hospital outpatient clinic because of the proverbial torn fingernail.”

He sees UNIQA in the “transformation from a pure insurer to a healthcare provider”. 40 percent of Austrians have private health insurance. This has arrived in the middle of society and is no longer a product for millionaires.

On the subject of pensions, Brandstetter admitted that it was a mistake to “forego the knowledge of older employees” when it came to the two major savings packages in the group. The company will no longer part with older employees as it did in the past and thus contribute to increasing the actual retirement age. But the legal starting age must also increase.

In Hungary, where UNIQA collected around 330 million euros in premiums last year, Brandstetter is hoping that the new Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s change of course will lead to the abolition of special taxes for foreign companies. The levy amounts to a low double-digit million amount.

The Iran war does not have a direct impact on the insurance company; government bonds from the region were sold a few weeks ago. However, the consequences of the war on the overall economy cannot yet be foreseen.

Natural disasters

Brandstetter described the fact that there were no major natural disasters in Austria last year as an “anomaly. Natural disasters will be a constant companion in Austria in the coming decades.” The insurance companies would have to build up higher reserves and pay more to the reinsurers. Which is why Brandstetter expects premiums to rise for customers in risk areas.

Brandstetter is satisfied with the “very good” first quarter of 2026. The group’s premiums rose by 14.4 percent to 2.8 billion euros, and earnings before taxes rose by almost six percent to 160 million. The outlook for 2026 of 540 to 570 million earnings before taxes is confirmed