Helping Ukraine goes on: Humanitarian aid saves lives

As a European insurance community, we have immediately launched a number of initiatives to support our Ukrainian colleagues and the Ukrainian population. We have upheld our commitment until today and will continue to do so. Humanitarian aid continues to be our main focus. 

Progress in humanitarian help 

UNIQA is one of the leading health insurance providers in the CEE region. Providing shipments of life-saving medical aid has thus become a natural next step in our humanitarian help efforts. On July 19th, the first truck left Austria with 10 tons of medical supplies such antibiotics, blood plasma substitutes and pharmaceuticals for anesthesia induction much needed in Ukrainian hospitals. The distribution is being managed by an external partner on site.  

Mid-September, a second shipment left a warehouse near Vienna heading for Kyiv and several other cities in Ukraine. Elena Uljee, CEO of UNIQA Ukraine, supervised the process on site. Watch her statement in a short video: 

In total, four shipments are planned for this year. A third delivery is expected in the coming weeks. This initiative is a continuation of our efforts that started shortly after the war broke out. Read more on what has been provided so far. 

Crisis teams in action 

A comprehensive network to support local employees was introduced within the first days after the invasion. Everyone in the company, including the local Management Board has been connected through various channels enabling quick mutual support. Salaries for February and March had been paid in advance. Thanks to the efforts of the Crisis Management team, the data center located in Kyiv was safely transferred to Vienna. This was an important step to enabling continuous smooth operations of UNIQA Ukraine.  

Helping Hands campaign 

In the first days of March, a donation campaign in cooperation with Caritas Austria and the Austrian Red Cross was launched. The amounts collected were used directly in the crisis area for immediate help on the ground through our partners. As a sign of support and solidarity, several UNIQA business units from different countries within the Group joined in the collaborative efforts to raise funds.  

Buddies from neighbouring countries 

Since the start of the conflict, many Ukrainians were forced to leave their homes. More than 400 people, employees of UNIQA Ukraine and their relatives have fled the country. They were met at the border by colleagues from local UNIQA companies, providing them with accommodation and comprehensive care. Over 160 volunteers from UNIQA Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria and Romania set an impressive example of Group-wide solidarity. In the meantime, many families have already returned home. We expect that by the end of the year, about 27 Ukrainian families will be staying in one of the neighbouring countries.   

All in all the support we provided amounts to approximately € 5 millions. Our efforts to lend a helping hand to the people of Ukraine will continue in the coming weeks and months.