Privatversicherungen#

Insurance Institutions, Private, businesses which take over the risk for all hazards on a contractual basis. Benefits laid down in the insurance contract are limited to the sum insured. Premiums are calculated on the basis of statistics and are proportionate to the risk involved. In Austria, private insurance institutions are Aktiengesellschaften or mutual insurance societies. The various branches are divided into personal insurances (life, health, accident insurances), non-life insurances (e.g. fire, transport, household, hail damage, glass insurances) and property insurances (e.g. liability insurance, legal costs insurance). Non-life insurances and property insurances are indemnity insurances.

Monasteries, fraternities and guilds carried out activities similar to insurances from the Middle Ages: they assisted members who were in trouble out of regular payments received. From the 17th  century onwards, peasant´s insurances (fire damage associations) were established and there was a smooth transition to the classic insurance company. The first private health insurance institution, "Confraternitaet", was founded in Vienna in 1729; fire insurance in the form of "provincial fire damage institutions" ("Landesbrandschadenanstalten") dates back to 1811. The first life and transport insurances in Austria emerged during the 1830s; Austria-Hungary had become an "insurance superpower" by the 2nd  half of the 19th  century: Austrian private insurance institutions (especially the life insurance institution "Phoenix" which was active in 32 states and ran into difficulties later on) enjoyed an international reputation until the beginnings of the First Republic. Even today, the Austrian insurance industry still benefits from the great achievements of the past.

Direct transactions within Austria boasted a premium volume of about ATS 140.6 billion in 1998 (1993: about ATS 117 billion) for about 40.4 million insured contingencies (1993: about 33 billion ATS), with life insurances amounting to ATS 56.4 billion (1993: 41 billion), health insurances came to ATS 15.3 billion (1993: ATS 15 billion) and indemnity and accident insurances to ATS 68.8 billion (1993: ATS 61 billion). The financial assets of the Austrian insurance industry come to ATS 598.6 billion (1993: ATS 350 billion).

The "Verband der Versicherungsunternehmen Oesterreichs" (Association of the Austrian Insurance Companies) is the umbrella organisation of the private insurance institutions in Austria; the Federal Ministry of Finance is the supervisory authority as defined in the Insurance Control Law (Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetz, VAG) for all companies active in the field of private insurance.

Apart from traditional insurance institutions there are also small insurance societies ("Versicherungsvereine") with a local sphere of activity that is limited in its business volume; their umbrella organisation is called "Fachverband der kleinen Versicherungsvereine" (Trade Association of Small Insurance Societies) .

Among the largest insurance companies in Austria are: Allgemeine Versicherungs AG Der Anker, Allgemeine Versicherungs AG Donau, Generali Holding Vienna AG, Grazer Wechselseitige Versicherung AG, Interunfall Versicherung AG, UNIQA Versicherungen AG, Wiener Staedtische Allgemeine Versicherung AG und Zuerich Kosmos Versicherungen AG.