Since 2014, Helvetia Group has held a 53% stake in the Italian non-life insurer Chiara Assicurazioni S.p.A. The Swiss insurance group has now acquired the remaining 47% of the shares from Banco Desio and other partner banks. Chiara Assicurazioni reached a premium volume of EUR32.9 million in 2015, with significant volumes, in particular, in the areas of private liability, accident, fire, property and financial loss insurance. Helvetia has paid EUR 20.0 million for the remaining shares. The transaction has already been closed, as it is not subject to regulatory approvals.
As part of the transaction, Helvetia Italy's distribution agreement with Banco Desio and other partner banks via Chiara Assicurazioni has been extended for an additional term of ten years. Helvetia Italy will thus be able to further benefit from the large sales network of these banks, safeguarding important access to customers in the non-life business for the long term. Thanks to the distribution agreements in place, Chiara Assicurazioni can rely on 1,614 bank branches. These are primarily located in northern and central Italy and provide Helvetia with a strong market presence in attractive regions.
"The non-life cooperation with Banco Desio and our other partner banks has proven to be very profitable over the past years", declares Francesco La Gioia, CEO of Helvetia Italy. "And we are convinced that our partner banks will continue to be an important distribution channel in the future", he continues. Philipp Gmür, CEO of Helvetia Group, adds: "Holding 100% of the shares in Chiara Assicurazioni will not only promote our business in Italy, but also enable us to accelerate the streamlining of our Italian operations as intended by the helvetia 20.20 strategy."
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