Vienna Insurance to merge Omniasig, BCR Asigurari in Romania, aims at top spot

Insurance companies Omniasig and BCR Asigurari, both owned by Vienna Insurance, will merge their operations in Romania. The Omniasig shareholders have been called for August 4 to give their preliminary merger approval. The two companies together would thus go up on the first spot on the Romanian insurance market, outranking rival Astra Asigurari. The Austrian insurer Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) recorded a loss of EUR 5 million in the first quarter of 2011 in Romania, compared with a gross profit of EUR 7.4 million in the same period of 2010. Gross written premiums also declined by 2 percent from EUR 147.4 million to EUR 144.5 million. On the Romanian market, the Austrian insurance group holds BCR Life Insurance, BCR Insurance, Omniasig and Asirom. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Sxc.hu)