Vienna Insurance Group in Turkey: Acquisition of a 10 percent stake in Ray Sigorta is completed

Vienna Insurance Group entered the Turkish insurance market via TBIH in 2007. Ray Sigorta is a listed Turkish insurance company based in Istanbul with around 260 employees. The company, which was founded in 1958, provides non-life insurance services with a focus on motor insurance. In 2010, Ray Sigorta generated a total premium volume of about EUR 122 million, according to preliminary results. Ray Sigorta benefits from a well-established distribution network with eight regional offices and a network of around 800 brokers and agents.

Turkey is one of the emerging insurance markets. The potential of the market is highlighted by its insurance penetration (insurance premiums as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product) of just 1.3 percent, compared to an average insurance penetration of 8.7 percent in the EU15 markets in Western Europe.