Assicurazioni Generali Essay ⋆ Business Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Assicurazioni Generali is one of the leading financial services group providers of insurance products and services in Europe. With a presence in about 40 countries through 331 subsidiaries, the group primarily operates in Italy, where it is the largest insurance company, followed by Germany, France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, and Israel. The company was established in 1831 and the headquarters are in Trieste, Italy. During the fiscal year 2007, the group has recorded revenues of €66,217.8 million, a consolidated result of €2,915.6 million, and employs 67,306 people. The main shareholders include Mediobanca Group (15.63 percent), Unicredit Group (4.,66 percent) and Bank of Italy (4.45 percent). Its main international competitors are AXA, Allianz, Fortis, and ING Group.

From the very beginning Assicurazioni Generali has been characterized by the capacity to grow, evolve, and innovate constantly, enhancing its wide presence across various segments and geographies. The business of Generali is concentrated on life and non-life insurance products, financial services, and real estate. The life division is involved in the offer of life insurance products for both individuals and corporate clients. The non-life division is engaged in the provision of motor, personal, accident, and health insurance.

The financial services division provides a range of banking and asset management services such as bancassurance and investment management products and services for individuals and institutional clients. It also provides services in the areas of real estate. The strategic focus of the group is on product and distribution innovation, increasing efficiency and improving standards for products and customer service.

Generali can be defined as a global born-leading company. After only four years from its foundation, Generali had already opened 25 offices in western and eastern Europe. Within a few decades, the group had expanded into Africa and Asia (in the 1880s) and North and South America (from 1950), diffusing around the world the trademark of the lion of St. Mark introduced after the establishment of the Republic of Venice. This symbol, after profound restyling, still identifies the group.

Generali’s expansion has continued in recent years with a number of mergers and acquisitions, agreements, and joint ventures that have always characterized the growth strategy of the company, giving a strong brand recognition leveraging a distinctive competitive advantage, especially in high-growth areas. Nevertheless a strong base for the growth initiatives has been always represented, especially in recent years, by the group’s robust financial performance.

Recent milestones include, in early 2005, the constitution of Generali China Life, a joint venture between Generali and China National Petroleum, followed a year later by the authorization to set up a joint venture to operate also in the Chinese nonlife insurance business. The group expansion in the emerging markets was reinforced in 2006 through a joint-venture agreement signed with one of the leading retailers in India, Pantaloon Retail, to serve both life and non-life segments.

Further acquisitions and partnerships have been recently carried out to enhance the market position of Generali in central and eastern Europe (CEE). An agreement was signed in 2004 between Generali and EBRD (the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) in order to set up a new real estate fund with the aim of investing in the real estate sector in CEE. Additionally Generali acquired majority shareholding in Delta Osiguranje, Serbia’s largest private insurance company. In June 2006, an agreement with the UkrAvto Group was signed for the acquisition of a 51 percent stake in Garant Auto and

Garant Life (insurance companies) in the Ukrainian market. In the same year the group continued its expansion with the acquisition of Orel-G Group, a leading player in the Bulgarian insurance market. To enhance the geographical reach of the company and strengthen its market position in the CEE market, in 2007 Generali and PPF Group signed a joint venture creating a new company named Generali PPF Holding. The joint venture combines the CEE businesses of both companies to create one of the region’s leading insurers with more than 9 million clients throughout Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Kazakhstan.

With its continuous growth at a global and local level, it is notable to point out that Assicurazioni Generali has always demonstrated a strong commitment in the areas of welfare, culture, and sports, and has recently introduced environmental concerns to its list of commitments.

Bibliography:

Datamonitor, “Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A.,” www.datamonitor.com (cited March 2009);
Hoovers, www.hoovers.com (cited March 2009);
Assicurazioni Generali, www.generali.com (cited March 2009).

This example Assicurazioni Generali Essay is published for educational and informational purposes only. If you need a custom essay or research paper on this topic please use our writing services. EssayEmpire.com offers reliable custom essay writing services that can help you to receive high grades and impress your professors with the quality of each essay or research paper you hand in.